The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY Volume 1
by Recondite-Entity
Summary: The Rift, the force that holds all realities together, has a problem - an unknown enemy - and needs someone who can solve it. This enemy is currently located on Remnant, so, the Rift reaches out to the Ninjealeon - the only one in existence, for that matter - a teenage hero thrown into a life he doesn't remember.
1. RWBY

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it.**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 1: RWBY**

 **RWBY Trailers**

It's been … I don't know how long it's been since I awoke into this … not body, but this life. I have memories of the past that I don't have memories of making. I remember so many things that I've been through, but I don't remember doing them. I remember building this life from scratch with what little I knew about the world I now lived in, but I don't remember what it was like to go through that. I remember the events, but I don't remember … me. It's as if I now inhabit a body that was mine from the start, but I've just been allowed to take the reins. It's terrifying.

What if this body wasn't mine to begin with and my consciousness was just shoved into it? What became of the previous owner? What does that make me?

"Sir, the … what did you say it was titled? The Ninjealeonic Rift Manipulator has … activated, I assume," NinjOS – the artificial intelligence I remember creating, but not interacting with – points out.

"Activated?" I ask. I built this machine, but up until now, it hasn't done anything.

"Well, some type of … portal has opened. It's green and swirls, and gives no indication as to where it leads." I don't know why it is titled the Ninjealeonic Rift Manipulator; I only remember it being given that name prior to its creation. I'm also not sure about this "Rift" that's in its title.

"Investigate?"

"I believe we should, Sir." I'm not sure why NinjOS calls me "Sir", the only explanation it's given is that it prefers to call me that instead of my name. It states that calling me "Sir" feels natural.

"Checklist," I state simply.

"Most definitely. (1) Nin Eon: check, (1) Ninjealeonic Operating System: check, (1) surgically attached Ninjealeonic Interface Helmet: check, (1) surgically attached Ninjealeonic Protection Armor: check, (2) Ninjealeonic Matter Manipulators: check, (1) Ninjealeonic Infinite Storage Apparatus: check, (1) year's supply of rations permanently frozen in time therein: check, and (1) Ninjealeonic Portable Archival System: Check. It appears that everything is in order," NinjOS lists.

"Ready?"

"Me, or you?"

"You."

"I am most certainly ready. I always am. As you know, I would travel with you to the other ends of our universe and back if you so choose," NinjOS states. I'm not sure why exactly it is so undoubtedly loyal, it's possible that I programmed it that way.

"Shall we?" I offer.

"We shall." NinjOS accepts.

I find myself looking at the strange green glow of the portal, however, now it surrounds me; it seems to encompass my very existence. I find it unnerving, but comforting in the same way. I feel so out of place, and yet so at home. This is the Rift; it tells me so. It tells me so many wonderful things.

It tells me that there is a multiverse, and it is made up of realities stacked upon alternate realities all infinitely expanding and creating infinitely new realities. These alternate realities differ in maybe only the difference in direction of one atom or they may differ in whether or not the Earth came into existence at all. It tells me that it is what holds all these realities together. If they are bricks, it is the mortar.

It now tells me that I will soon arrive in an unfamiliar location. It tells me that it has given me a gift that will allow it to communicate with me at all times. It – this all powerful … existence – begs for my help. It tells me that I am needed to stop … something, something not even it knows.

Now, I am here. I am standing in front of a tombstone, slightly angled out of the ground, on the edge of a snowy cliff. I hear music, it seems to come from this reality itself. The tombstone is inscribed with a large rose symbol and the words:

Summer Rose

Thus Kindly I Scatter

I mean no disrespect, but, honestly, that sounds like a fake name, but I call myself Nin Eon, so who am I to judge.

What was once only a stringed instrument, the music is now accompanied by the "ooh" of an unknown singer. I look up at the full moon, I see both white and red rose petals scatter in the wind from an unknown source – much like the music. I hear the sound of feet crunching snow and now I am accompanied by someone who appears to be an alternative "Red-Riding Hood". I notice that the red petals are originating from her cloak.

" _Red like roses, fills my dreams, and takes me to the place you rest,_ " The music sings. The girl, however, remains silent.

"How did you know my mom?" The girl asks.

"Friend's son," I answer. She seems to accept my answer and turns away.

My wrist begins to feel strange and I pull it to my face to inspect it. Now, there is a watch that simply states: Follow her. I decide that this is the gift I was given and obey its wishes.

" _White is cold, and always yearning,_ " the music continues. We find ourselves walking through a snowy forest, I feel as though we're being followed.

" _Burdened by, the royal test."_ As the music sings more, we find ourselves in a large clearing. We are faced with a pack of large, semi-bipedal, black wolves.

" _Black, the beast, descends from shadow._ " I realize that the music seems to be going along with current events.

" _Yellow beauty buuurns …_ " the wolves charge at us.

"Ninjealeonic Suit, protract," I command. The wolves reach the girl, but just as three of them swipe at her, she is gone. They look up, and my eyes follow. To my surprise, the girl is in the air, in front of the moon.

" _Gooooold._ " The song completes its line as the girl retrieves what I assume is a weapon of some kind from her back. Somehow, she spins around in mid-air, extends the weapon, points at the wolves, and fires. One of them now lays dead, half of its head blown apart, but no blood spills forth, the wolf simply begins to … dissolve.

The tone of the music changes as the girl lands and a few of the wolves rush her. She jumps around, blasting large chunks out of several of the wolves, before she extends the gun yet again. However, it is no longer a gun, it is a rather large scythe.

One of the wolves bravely – or stupidly – rushes up to her, only to have the scythe placed along the back of its neck. It only stares and growls at the girl. She smirks, the scythe "fires", and the wolf is torn in half.

What ensues next can only be described as a massacre of the strange, dissolving wolves. Equally strange is the change of the music to fit the moment. Soon, the girl flies into the air again, only to be followed by a few of the wolves, one of which she slays and the other of which she blocks with her weapon. She is pushed back from the recoil and simply stops her movement by plunging her scythe into the ground.

Even now, more of these creatures appear and the newcomers look even more ravenous than the last. The girl replaces the current magazine in her weapon with one that has some type of symbol on it. She turns the scythe around, the "barrel" of the gun facing behind her, and fires.

The battlefield quickly becomes a blur of black and red as she near-literally flies around slicing and shooting any and all of the creatures at blinding speed. If before was a massacre, then now this battle is genocide. All while this happens, the music plays at a highly increased speed.

Soon, the clearing is empty once again, with the exception of me, the girl, the discarded bullet shells, and the rose petals. The music stops as the girl stands with her scythe behind her, sharp edge facing up, as the remaining shells fall around her.

She then replaces the weapon to its sheath on her back, now its original, compact size. She approaches me.

"So, how was that?" She asks, curiously.

"Fast." I tell her. The display was quite impressive, but I felt that that would be too generic, so I favored the more unique response.

"Really? Like, how fast?"

"Blinding."

"Wow! Thank you for saying that, I felt like I was being really sloppy, but I guess you can't really tell when you go that fast. I'm Ruby Rose, it's nice to meet you," she greets as she sticks out her hand.

Thankfully, I had previously retracted the NS, and so, I shook her hand. "Nin Eon," I introduce myself.

"You don't look like you're from around here, where are you from? Oh, I bet you're from Vacuo, ooh that would be so cool to meet a foreigner," Ruby spills.

"Not from here, correct. Vacuo, incorrect," I reply.

"Y'know, you talk strangely, I mean, I'm not trying to insult you, I just thought it was … different," she looked guilty and began looking at the ground.

"No offense taken." As soon as I told her this, a green vortex opened at my feet, and soon, I found myself in the Rift once again.

* * *

" _Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or form of measure. And all of it… irreplaceable._ " This is what the Rift whispers to me as I find myself in another location.

Now, I am in the back of an enormous crowd. It seems to be some type of concert, although, the performer is not currently on stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Weiss Schnee," an announcer, with an almost unintelligible microphone, announces as a figure walks into the spotlight.

The figure is a girl with pale white skin and matching white hair and clothes. The only other color shown on her is the red inside her collar. A piano begins to play.

" _Mirror, tell me something, tell me who's the loneliest of all_?" The girl sings. After this line, I am transported to a new location, except the girl is here as well, and she's fighting a large, knight-like creature. She uses a rapier with some type of revolving cylinder in the guard of it.

The creature stands and immediately begins to swing at Weiss, but she predicts the path of the swing and does a pseudo-backwards-cartwheel to the side to avoid it. She then readies her own weapon.

" _Mirror, tell me something …"_

With her rapier pointed forward, she flies across the room into the knight, only for it to block the attack and fling her into the air. She lands and the knight immediately attempts another swing at her.

" _Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_ "

The swing only connects with the ground as Weiss dodges behind the knight in a blur of movement. She then leaps into the air and lands several hits on the creature's right shoulder. However, it retaliates with a 180-degree sweep of its own weapon while she is still in the air, this attack forces her to block and sends her flying back.

The music picks up as the knight launches itself into the air and prepares another strike while Weiss is still recovering.

" _Fear of, what's inside of me."_

However, like before, she easily dodges the attack, but the creature follows through with another two attacks, the last of which is blocked – rather than dodged – and once again sends Weiss flying back.

Once she is standing again, she gets some type of substance from her sword and throws this "powder" onto the ground. This action creates a large, white symbol beneath her feet and she is soon flung forward at "Ruby-speed".

" _Tell me can a heart, be turned to stone?_ "

She then continues to use this "magic" to bounce around her opponent, all while striking him multiple times, mostly slicing, but also some thrusts. At one point she uses her symbol to propel her over a swing, while she is in midair, however, the giant, instead, simply punches her with his free hand. This is a direct hit and the music changes to reflect that.

" _Aaa-aaa-aaa-aah,_ "

Her face is now home to a very large scar on her left eye, fortunately not deep enough to cut her eye. She then readies her rapier once again, this time, pulling what looks like the revolver's hammer. This causes the revolver to spin and the blade begins to glow red. The knight runs forward and attacks with an overhead swing, but she blocks and a red wave of … energy spews forth.

" _Mirror, mirror, what's behind you_ ,"

She spins and slams the rapier into the ground, causing a wave of ice to go forward and hit the knight. It, however, is undeterred and continues to attack as she rushes forward.

" _Save me from the things I've seen,_ "

She leaps over the swing and lands on the large sword. The cylinder of her rapier now glows yellow, signifying a change in effect, I presume. She attacks and both her and the giant's sword land a bit away from it.

" _I can keep from the world, why won't you let me hide from me?_ "

The knight moves as if its confused, but quickly resumes its attack, now with no weapon, it simply charges with its armored fists. As a new glyph forms at her feet, Weiss spins the cylinder of the rapier and dodges out of the way of the knight's fist.

" _Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_ "

One of the symbols now appears under the knight, it is then launched into the air with six "magic missiles" following it and locking it in midair.

" _Who's the loneliest of all?_ "

Weiss follows through with an assisted launch into the air. She then launches herself at the "frozen" knight, with a now white rapier, and finishes the knight with one final attack.

" _I'm the loneliest, of aaall._ "

The knight shatters as it hits the ground. I am then transported back to the end of the concert to see Weiss, with a now healed scar, look up at the moon, and I find my eyes following. I notice something that's different from when I saw it with Ruby, the moon is… broken. Weiss curtsies as "snow" falls around her, and the white curtain closes as the audience screams and applauses. I am immediately dropped back into the Rift, presumably to see another girl's story.

* * *

" _Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation…_ " Another statement from the Rift as I enter a new scene, but the words it whispers are not its own and they are not addressed to me.

I appear in a forest of trees with red leaves, I would say it's only autumn, but the sheer amount of red and lack of any other color tells me this place is not like Earth. It's daytime, but the moon is still in the sky, and much like how I noticed at the concert, the moon is broken. The moon has been shattered, by what, I don't know, but, now, the damage is much worse. Also, just as before, a piano can be heard but not seen.

On a rock, in front of me, sits a girl who seems to share my concern for the moon. The girl's hair is jet black and she has a bow atop her head that matches its shade. Otherwise, her attire is mostly black and white with the exception of the purple on her leggings.

Another figure enters the clearing, similarly dressed in black. However, this man wears a mask that has red designs that match the shade of his hair and the trees around us. On his coat is a large insignia of white and red, but what stands out most in his appearance are what appear to be horns protruding from his head.

"Blake, it's time," he tells the girl.

She looks at him to respond, but is surprised when she sees me. Her companion quickly notices her staring and turns to look at me as well. They both draw their swords.

"Who are you?" The man asks in a way that was meant to intimidate me.

"Nin Eon," I respond.

"Adam, we have to go," "Blake" tells him.

"We can't just turn our backs to him."

"But look, he doesn't even have a weapon."

"Unarmed, correct. Unarm _or_ ed, incorrect," I quickly correct.

"So, are you hear to stop us or what?" "Adam" asks.

"Join."

"Alright, you better know how to hold your own," he tells me as they both sheathe their weapons and run off. I quickly follow.

We now find ourselves on the edge of a cliff overlooking a train track and a train is heard nearby. I also hear that the music has changed, it's now faster paced. The train reaches the track directly below us and as it does, the two of them jump – with me following suit.

"NS, protract," I command while we slide down an incredibly steep slope before launching ourselves into the air again and landing on the train.

They both seem unfazed by the injuries they should have sustained from that height, but instead they plunge their weapons into the train to stop them from flying back off.

"NS, Ninjealeonic Magnetic Lock," I command as the feet of the NS quickly snap onto the train and hold me in place. After gaining their balance, they rush ahead and jump to the next car. I disengage the NML and continue following. We stop at a roof-hatch and we quickly make our way inside.

"Looks like we're going to be doing this the hard way," Adam states just as I examine why he says this. I notice that the music is much different from the piano solo from before.

Soon the robots begin to glow read and helmets lock to cover their "faces". They quickly surround us as Blake tells Adam "don't be so dramatic." We ready ourselves for a fight.

" _Intruder, identify yourself,_ " one robot commands as it changes its hands into gatlings.

"Nin Eon," I reply hopefully.

" _Identity confirmed. Designation: The Protector. Regret to inform: you do not have authorization to board this vessel, please exit immediately._ " I find it extremely unnerving that these mechanized soldiers know who I am. And what did it mean by "The Protector"? In response to its last comment, Adam shoots his sword – hilt first – into the robot, sprints and grabs the sword, slices the head off, and finishes by slicing the robot in two. The others take this as a sign of combat and begin their defense of the train using bladed arms.

" _From shadows, we'll descend upon the world,_ " the music sings as my two companions go to work hacking, slashing, and shooting their way through the robot army.

" _Take back what you stole,_ " another voice sings. Another of the robots' arms become gatlings and I quickly move out of the way, which proves unnecessary as the two sword-wielders cut the bullets with their swords. Blake does this while rushing at the combatant and quickly dispatches it and several others.

" _From shadows, we'll reclaim our destiny,_ " sings the female voice.

" _Set our future free,_ " sings the male.

" _And we'll riiise,_ " sings the first as Adam kicks one of our enemies through the door of the train-car, and we follow after it.

" _And we'll riiise,_ " the same voice repeats.

"Let's do this," Adam tells us as more robots leap over boxes in their haste to terminate the intruders.

" _Above the darkness and the pain,_ " the male voice continues as Blake pulls a new weapon from her back. The weapon appears to be some type of bladed pistol with an incredibly long ribbon used to whip it around. She uses the weapon as a whip, but she can still fire the gun, therefore, affording the weapon with much more momentum than its normal counterpart.

" _Above the torture and the pain,_ " the female voice sings as both Blake and Adam work in tandem to destroy our enemies.

" _Above the ridicule and hate,_ " the male voice continues the trend.

" _Above the binding of our fate,_ " the female voice finishes as the two finish off our remaining combatants. We enter the next train car. Adam opens one of the cases in the car and we find large colored crystals of some kind. I notice an insignia on all the crates and realize: it's the same symbol that was shown when I watched Weiss' performance, both the singing and the fight.

"Perfect, move up to the next car," tells us as he closes the case. "I'll set the charges."

"What about the crewmembers?" Blake asks, concerned.

"What about them?" Adam asks indifferently. Blake looks down in disagreement. Just after, a large, spider-like robot drops from the shadowy ceiling of the car. This robot has much heavier firepower than the previous ones, and it makes this fact incredibly apparent.

" _Born with, no life, into subjugation,_ " the male voice resumes singing as the machine begins charging its weapons.

"Adam," Blake states, clearly concerned.

" _Treated, like a, worthless animal,_ " the male voice continues as the robot begins firing off some kind of energy weapon.

" _Stripped of, all rights,_ " the female voice joins in as Blake attempts to retaliate, to no avail.

" _Just a lesser being,_ " the female voice elaborates as Adam makes his attempt, only to be kicked across the room and shot at.

" _Crushed by, cruel, ruthless human rule,_ " the female voice continues as Adam swiftly saves Blake from being crushed.

" _When it started._ "

"We need to get out of here," Blake voices the idea of a tactical retreat just as the robot begins charging a combined weapon.

" _All we wanted was a chance to live our lives._ " The charging is now much farther along, and I notice that if that blast hits my colleagues, they will surely be vaporized, so I ready myself.

" _Now in darkness, taking everything we want and we will rise,_ " the song continues as the robot fires and I leap in front of the blast. This caused me to be used as a battering ram through the door opposite our entrance. I am flooded with alert messages from the NS about the decreased integrity of the electromagnetic field surrounding it. Thankfully, neither I nor my associates sustained any damage. I stand to find both of them directly in front of me, facing the robot.

" _We'll rise._ "

"Buy me some time," Adam commands.

"Are you sure?" Blake asks.

" _We'll rise._ "

"Do it!" Adam commands as he begins readying himself for… something. Blake rushes the robot, dodging the large balls of energy launched at her. She latches onto the defense spider, swings herself into the air, and proceeds to slice it up. Eventually, after sufficiently distracting it, she acrobats her way back to Adam as the robot charges another energy beam.

"Move!" Adam yells over the sound of the energy cannon being charged. Blake falls back to my position as I realize that if Adam's… plan falls through, I won't be able to block this next attack and we will all surely die.

The robot fires and Adam unsheathes his sword. The beam hits his sword and is… absorbed. The sword seems to capture all the energy, and once the beam stops, Adam clicks his sword and gives an almost disturbing laugh.

Blake, on the contrary, is not paying attention. She has taken a place on the next flatbed car, and I move to follow her. I jump across and turn to see Adam, now glowing red, slash at the robot and with the captured energy, the robot immediately begins to dissolve after being struck, which is why I'm glad we weren't hit by that energy beam.

Blake looks distraught as she looks at Adam, who motions for her to stop. The music has softened and is now very gentle. "Goodbye," Blake says, just as softly, and unsheathes her sword.

Adam does nothing as he watches her slash the coupling of the car, and the train leaves the, now, unattached cars behind. As we the train pulls away, I can still hear the screeching of the cars left behind.

After staring at the cars we left behind for a few moments, she turns to me. She's not sad, she just seems… guilty, for what she just did, or maybe things before my arrival. "Who are you, exactly?" She asks me.

"Nin Eon," I repeat my previous answer, even with the knowledge that it will not be sufficient.

"No, not your name. What did those robots mean when they called you 'The Protector'?" She confirms my thoughts, and clarifies her question.

"Unknown."

"What do you mean? You don't know why they called you that?"

"Correct." This is my simple answer as the Rift takes me again. I know not where I will soon find myself, but if my previous stops are evidence of my destination, I will soon meet another interesting female.

* * *

" _Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its would be judgement._ " More words of wisdom from the Rift, not from it and not addressed to me. Although, this does make me wonder… why didn't it say anything before I met Ruby.

I now find myself on the back of yellow motorcycle driven by a blond girl with a brighter yellow helmet. She seems to quickly notice the shift in weight from my arrival, and I make sure to retract the NS before we stop. Also, in doing so, I check the watch, which simply continues to say "follow her". The driver gets off the bike and I follow suit, only for her to grab my shirt and pull back a fist.

"Alright, who are you, and how'd you get on my bike?" She questions threateningly.

"Nin Eon. Unknown," I answer simply.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you don't know how you got on my bike?" She continued, now slightly more agitated.

"Correct."

"Y'know what, I don't care. I don't have time for this, so, for now, you get to be my date for tonight. By the way, I'm Yang," she tells me as she releases my shirt, instead, linking our arms together and dragging me to the door of what I presume to be a club.

As we enter, a spotlight shines on us, making Yang's hair shine brighter than it already did. The club is a large open space with a white staircase leading down to a dancefloor made of light panels. There are six glass pillars that don't connect with the ceilings and people dancing around them. The DJ appears to be wearing a large teddy bear head as he bounces along with the music. I realize that the music is a remixed version of the song I heard when I met Ruby.

"Objective?" I ask my "date".

"Would you believe me if I told you I was enjoying a night on the town?" Yang responds jokingly.

"No."

"Yeah, I wouldn't either. Just follow me and you'll find out." She drags me to the bar where a man with a white suit jacket and cane is just leaving. We walk up to the bar next to the man with the black vest that the aforementioned man was talking to. The two girls next to him leave after he motions for them to.

"Strawberry Sunrise, no ice, oh, and one of those little umbrellas," Yang tells the bartender, who then looks expectantly at me.

"Water."

"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie," the vested man addresses as he stands straight up.

"*giggle* Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?" She counters.

"So, you know who I am, y'got a name Sweetheart."

"Yes, Junior, I've got several, but instead of Sweetheart… you can just call me **sir** ," Yang tells him as she grips his… unmentionables tightly. Needless to say, he hunches over in pain.

"People say you know everything; tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go." At the mention of her query she pulls out a device and shows "Junior" a picture. I can't make out who it is, but I assume Yang has good reasons to hunt the person down.

"I've never seen her before, I swear," he tells her, obviously in pain.

"Excuse me?" Yang grips tighter.

"I swear, sir," he repeats, now in even more pain. However, I pull my attention away for a moment to address the growing crowd. The men that have come to investigate look very menacing in their black suits, even more so once I notice their axes.

"Hmm, looks like we have an audience. This must be kind of embarrassing for you, huh?" Yang notices as well. "Awkward."

"Listen. Blondie. Sir." Junior speech is stilted, due to the pain, most likely. "If you want to make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now," he threatens Yang, although, it seems to be a mostly empty threat at this point.

Yang releases him and he lets out a heavy sigh in relief. "You'll pay for that," he tells her as he walks through an opening in the "audience".

"Oh, Junior, I was just playing with you, don't be so sensitive," Yang tells him as she walks backwards in front of him. Although, the situation doesn't seem to have defused yet as I notice the axe-wielding thugs keep them surrounded. I find that my best course of action is to stay put, after all, I'm trying to involve myself as little as possible in the affairs of this… reality.

"C'mon, let's kiss and make up, okay?" She offers, which appears to intrigue him more than a little.

"Huh? Okay." They both lean in a fairy tale fashion, and just as they seem to close the gap, Yang's fist shoots forward and sends him flying into through one of the glass pillars, of which, there are now five. The mass of people on the dance floor notice this and all make a beeline for the exit. Yang then extends her gauntlets to cover both of her forearms and ejects what appears to be a shotgun shell out of the right one. She then leaps into the air and poses in a similar fashion to the other girls and comes crashing down onto the dancefloor. This causes the light panels to stop working as well as a ripple effect that launches her assailants away from her. And just like before, the music changes to match the scenario, now it's a remixed version of Weiss' song.

Yang immediately gets to work punching her enemies which seem to also have the effect of the aforementioned shotgun shells, with less penetration and more blasting them away. I notice that much like Ruby, Yang uses the concussive force from her gauntlets to give her more momentum. She kicks another fellow through another of the glass pillars, of which, there are now four.

Soon after this, the DJ pulls out a submachine gun and starts spraying it in her general direction. Yang easily dodges the erratic fire by moving in a serpentine pattern. She then launches herself up to the masked gunner and slams it into the DJ console, causing the music to change into a remixed version of the song I heard whilst I traveled with Blake and Adam.

"Melanie, who is this girl?" Asks the girl dressed in red that was with Junior earlier, now brandishing a set of long red claw-gauntlets.

"I don't know Militia, but we should teach her a lesson," the girl dressed in white who appears to be the other's sister. Yang only responds by ejecting all of the used shells and replacing them with a set of red ones. Which in contrast to the previously used ones, seem to launch long-range projectiles, rather than short-range concussive blasts. Although, the twins dodge these projectiles with relative ease, with Melanie even slashing one with her… bladed heels. She also deflects one of the projectiles into another of the glass pillars, of which, there are now three.

The twins make a very good combination as they fight Yang in tandem, seemingly synchronized with each other. Yang is kicked and knocked back, but once again uses her gauntlets to propel her in the direction of her enemies, also using this forward momentum to punch Melanie.

She easily defeats Militia on her own, finishing her by sending her through another of the glass pillars, of which, there are now two. Yang appears to have trouble facing off with the kick-fighter, but quickly adjusts her fighting style to a more defensive one. She soon finds an opening and floors the other sister, Melanie.

However, just after she does, the music changes to… a song I haven't heard before as Junior walks into a spotlight, now wielding his own weapon, a missile launcher.

"You're gonna pay for this," he calls out to Yang, who only responds by preparing for his attack. He begins with a barrage of small missiles – which Yang easily dodges before resorting to shooting them out of the air with his second barrage. After failing with the missiles, Junior leaps into the air, now using the launcher as a large metal bat. After a few hits, he returns the favor by launching her into some glass, although, not one of the glass pillars, of which, there are still two.

Yang punches her fists together, which makes her hair look as though it's on fire and rushes at Junior. Who attempts to use missiles again, and then switching back to bat as she reaches swinging proximity. However, both of these attacks fail and only result in Yang punching him several times and launching him backwards to a set of stairs, now with just the handle of his weapon and… some of her hair. This "atrocity" is met with an explosion followed by a shockwave which, thankfully, does not affect me with my position behind the bar.

After this blast, the world seems to pale in comparison to the brightness of it. She sprints at Junior faster than my eyes can follow and punches him with the force of another of these blasts, which launches him out of a window, through which, she quickly follows and I am soon transported.

"Yang is that you, and hey it's you too," Ruby comments after seeing us.

"Oh, hey sis!" Yang responds, seemingly trying to cover up the fact that she just annihilated an entire club, not to mention destroying four of the six glass pillars found within.

"Hello again," I respond as well.

"What are you two doing here?" Ruby questions.

"*sigh* It's a long story," Yang answers with the well-used cliché.

"Unknown," I answer with my increasingly used "catchphrase".

"Oh, I almost forgot about you," Yang turns to confront me. "So, where were you during that fight?"

"Avoiding."

"Avoiding what?" Yang seemed to be getting annoyed at my apparent apathy. "I could have really used the help back there!"

"Yang, stop it!" Ruby tries to prevent her from going any further.

"Interaction. Confrontation. Injury." I give my reasons.

"Interaction! With what, ME!?" She seems even angrier.

"You, incorrect. Fate, correct."

"Fate? Whose?"

"Unsure," I reply as I am once again returned to the endless swirls of the Rift. I'm not sure how it dragged me in without making her release me. Also, with the excitement I failed to mention the fact that I noticed the appearance of the moon, shattered just as with Blake and Adam, but also a second, yellow moon, completely intact. This changes my thoughts on the passage of time between my appearances in their reality.

" _Why did you tell her you wished to avoid interaction with Fate, what do you know about Fate?_ " The Rift inquires.

"Unknown."

" _You know not why or do you not know what you know?_ "

"Both."

* * *

For prior notification of a chapter being posted check my Tumblr: zurprizebirthday


	2. A Dark Past and a Bright Future

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 2: A Dark Past and A Bright Future**

 **RWBY Chapter 1: Ruby Rose**

After my last comment, the Rift grew silent, with the exception of the background noise it constantly emitted. It is not an annoying noise, nor is it pleasant, it is simply there to fill the silence that would inevitably take its place. The Rift remains this way even as another "window" opens to… a classroom of some sort. It all looks normal with the exception of a certain recognizable red-/black-haired girl, of course. I fall through the opening into the desk directly adjacent to her. No one notices my entrance, with the exception of Ruby.

"Hey, it's you!" She calls out.

" _NS, protract and cloak_ ," is my response.

"Ms. Rose, who pray tell, are you talking to?" The teacher asks sternly.

"No one," Ruby replies guiltily.

"Well, then be quiet, we're about to watch a video. The title is 'The History of Remnant', which just may help you when we take our next test," the teacher explains.

"Yes, ma'am," Ruby apologizes. The teacher gets up and turns off the lights as the video begins.

" _Legends: stories gathered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting exploits of heroes and villains – forgetting so easily that we are remnants, by-products of a forgotten past,_ " the video began, but Ruby soon interrupted this to ask me questions.

"Hey, are you still there?" she whispers.

"Yes, concentrating on video, would like to know history of your world," I reply, taking care to be just as quiet.

"Oh, well, then we can talk when it's over."

"Affirmative." After our short conversation, the video continues to give an incredibly informative history lesson of this world. However, towards the end of the video, the background music grows sinister, and so does the narration.

" _So, you may prepare your guardians – build your monuments to a so-called 'free world' – but take heed there will be no victory in strength,_ " the videos narrator tells the audience. The way she says it… disturbs me. I'm not sure why the producers would choose for such a thing to be said, maybe they were trying to make a statement of some kind, I'm not sure.

" _But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten; things that require a smaller… more honest soul,_ " a new, male, narrator counters. After this guest appearance from the other unknown narrator, the video ends. To say the least, the video was useful.

"So, are you still there? Did you learn anything from the video?" Ruby asks quietly.

"Yes," I respond quietly. Truthfully, the video gave me useful insight into what this world knows about its own past. While also providing me with information in regards to what this world uses for fuel and energy, among many other things. Also, it told me what those strange dissolving creatures are called: 'Grimm'.

"So, why are you here all of a sudden? I haven't seen you since you were with Yang about… I don't know, but I do know it's been a while. So, why?" She whispers.

"Not my choice."

"Then, who's was it?"

"Confidential." After this, she remains silent, and this allows me to survey the room. I quickly glance around the room and notice that everyone – besides Ruby – is only a silhouette. I find it disturbing, at least. However, my attention becomes much more engrossed in the strange shadow-creature that lurks in the corner across the room. It seems that it took the form of one of those Grimm wolves. It notices me now, as well.

"Ruby, departure," I quickly whisper to her.

"What do you mean?" She responds.

"Farewell, for now," I answer.

"Oh, I was hoping we could hang out a little after school, but if you need to leave again that's okay. See ya' later."

Personally, I would've liked to socialize, but I feel that the creature doesn't have the same idea for me, and the Rift is very insistent on my survival. The aforementioned vortex drags me down before the creature can attack.

" _It seems that that abomination is our enemy,_ " the Rift explains.

"Silhouettes?"

" _The silhouettes were indeed its doing, however, only we are able to see this, that is why you were recruited. You are the only Nin Eon in existence, throughout the entire Multiverse, which is strange in itself, but you are also the only individual with the ability to see this… obscurity, not just in appearance, but in their very existence. I can feel the existence of all things, but that… monstrosity cannot be felt and its… victims are on the verge of being the same. This is what your objective is in this reality, to rid the Multiverse of this vermin, if not to save this particular one, then all realities from its grotesque destruction of… essence,_ " the Rift explains my purpose as well as background not even I knew.

"Understood. NinjOS?" I inquire about my companion mysteriously missing in action.

" _Do not concern yourself, your artificial intelligence will join you on your mission, I merely… suspended it for the time being. However, now that the true enemy has been identified, your assignment begins upon returning to Remnant and you will not be able to return until the disturbance is removed from its… nonexistence._ " As the Rift finishes its not so brief briefing, I find myself once again returning to the reality I will know as home for a time. I fall and land on my feet in some type of store, but considering the status of my cloaking system, I am still hidden.

"Sir, I just checked the timestamps of when we entered the Rift and exited and it has been… corrupted. It appears that you weren't completely unconscious the entire time. Sir, are these records…?" NinjOS explains.

"Experience."

"I see, so, I must have been disabled by the Rift while you gallivanted around an alternate reality, that seems hardly fair," NinjOS complains.

"Apologies. _Update Archive._ "

"Yes, Sir. Sir, I'd like to point out that that man in the white coat with the entourage of black-suited men is one you saw at… the club with… Yang," it informs as the information becomes available. The man in question is indeed making his way up the street towards the shop. I take this time to assess the shop.

The shop only has two occupants: the owner, a white-haired man standing behind a counter filled with large, colored crystals of some kind and… Ruby. I realize the familiarity of one of the occupants as the men swagger into the store.

The white-coat flicks his cigar at the counter, crosses his arms, and addresses the man behind the counter. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" he asks as one of the cronies aims a pistol at the owner. This confirms my suspicions about this being a Dust shop.

"Please, just take my Lien and leave," the owner surrenders.

"Sh, sh, sh, sh, shh, calm down, we're not here for your money," White-coat tells him. "Grab the dust," he commands his henchmen.

One of them opens a case and pulls out a tube, the others follow and they all hook them up to the colored pipes on the wall. One of the others makes the owner retrieve the crystals from the display case. Ruby has so far failed to notice the entrance of these criminals as she seems to be reading a weapons magazine. Why can't she hear them? Is she that engrossed in the magazine?

"Sir, we need to intervene," NinjOS informs me.

"Affirmative," I reply as I make my way over to Ruby and tap her shoulder.

"Hm?" She replies as she removes her hood and addresses the man brandishing a red scimitar-like weapon behind me.

"Put your hands in the air!" He commands her.

She removes her headphones and replies with a "yes?"

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!" the criminal repeats, stepping closer.

"Are you…robbing me?" She asks.

"Yes!"

"Ah," she responds very nonchalantly to his hostile nature, until she kicks him back to the other side of the shop, thankfully, not kicking me as well.

Another lackey comes to investigate the cause of his accomplice's sudden urgency to slam into a wall. Finding Ruby, as expected, who immediately rides this man – in the way one rides a -board of any kind, with feet firmly planted on the center of gravity – through the display window of the shop. I quickly leap out after her.

As Ruby stands, she protracts her scythe, preparing to use it on the oncoming onslaught of suited henchmen.

"Ruby, Nin Eon speaking. These may be criminals, but they do not deserve death," I caution her.

"What?" Is all she can say before one of the attackers lunges at her.

"Sir, is there something wrong? Your panic levels are ssssppiiiikiii-"

* * *

"W-what are you!?" The scum asks as it attempts in futility to kill me with a sidearm with its back to the wall, afraid of the hero who's come to stop it. "Are you Death, or something!?" It calls as it throws its – now empty – firearm to the ground.

"Death comes with a scythe in hand to reap those whose lives have ended," I explain. "I come with only justice in my hands to end the lives of those who seek to ruin others'. Do you now see the difference? For I am not Death, only… the middle man."

"Holy shit! I don't want to die! Just arrest me, or something; please, I surrender!" The scum now attempts to wager its way out of the deal.

"You have already made Death complete its end of the bargain, so I have been contracted to see that you complete yours."

"What are you talking about?!" It calls out.

"Why don't you ask Death… personally?" And with those words, I thrust my fist into this monster's skull, shattering any remnant of a brain with it. To take life you must give up your own, this is Death's deal, with which I am exempted in return for insuring that both sides are fulfilled.

The… people of this city regard me as a helpful nightmare. They are thankful I am here, but afraid of me nonetheless. Those with which I will soon acquaint with Death, regard me, at first, as prey; knowing that if they can be the one to end me, they will free this city and return it to its previous anarchy, but soon after meeting me, they regard me as a predator; knowing that I will soon end them to keep this city secure and orderly.

Among the many inhabitants of this city I am known by several names: The Violent Vigilante, which I feel is a bit cliché; The Kingsnake, in other words, the snake that eats other snakes; The Reaper, Death incarnate, the one who ends the lives of those whose souls are to be reaped; and the one I chose for myself due to nature with which I conduct myself and the animal which is thought to have a similar disappearing ability: The Ninjealeon.

* * *

I am awoken by the sound of many explosions happening on the roof of a nearby building. I stand and look in the direction of the commotion and find myself wondering just how far this world's technology has come ahead of my own. A VTOL of sorts is being assaulted by… magic and returning fire – literally – with… magic, but I know this power to be Dust, at least, it should be.

The battle ends when several explosions force the combatants on the roof to avoid being destroyed, allowing the VTOL necessary time to make its escape. I decide to investigate the fate of those on the roof, but am halted in this pursuit when I watch the two climb down the ladder allowing access to the roof. One of which I recognize as Ruby, the other is… unknown.

"Sir, you're finally awake. When you fainted I feared we would be trampled in the ensuing fight, thankfully we only sustained damage from a medium-range explosive projectile, fired from the man in the white-coat wielding a cane," NinjOS informs me. "However, the damage sustained has severely impacted the Ninjealeonic Shielding Apparatus. The shield is still functional, but is now susceptible to collapse. I suggest you retract the NS until the point in time in which it can be repaired and recharged, or we may suffer a shut down due to the shield's energy drain."

"Understood. _NS, retract_ ," I heed NinjOS' warning.

"Hey, I thought I heard you earlier, but I got caught up in the fight, so I wasn't able to talk to you," Ruby explains as she rushes up to me, immediately after retracting the NS.

"Ms. Rose, let me remind you that you are currently coming with me, your… colleague is now also required for reprimanding," the other rooftop combatant informs us. I'm already regretting taking NinjOS' advice.

"Understood," I respond to my recent inclusion.

* * *

The three of us are now located in a room reminiscent of a cliché interrogation room. Ruby and I sit in chairs, side-by-side, at a table while this woman paces around the room.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady. I don't even know how you fit into this, young man," the woman informs us. "You put yourself and others in great danger," she continues, now addressing Ruby again.

"They started it!" Ruby exclaims.

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home… with a pat on the back… and a slap on the wrist," she continues, completely ignoring Ruby. After this comment, she slaps the table with her… riding crop. Ruby flinches away from the "attack" with a small "eek".

"But, there is someone here who would like to meet the both of you," she explains as she steps out of the way of the man entering the room.

The man is carrying a mug and a plate of… cookies. To put simply, this world confuses me. "Ruby Rose," he begins. He leans in and continues, "you have… silver eyes."

"U-um." Ruby is obviously as confused as I am, which is reassuring, and not so. I also find it a bit creepy that this strange man seems to know Ruby and is offering us cookies in a dark room. However, I now realize that these two were the narrators for that informational video from before, not that that excuses the creepy behavior.

"So, where did you learn to do this?" He asks as he motions toward a replay of the battle I missed on a device similar to a tablet, but lacking much of the physical components.

"S-Signal Academy," Ruby answers.

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" He seems to think otherwise.

"Well… one teacher in particular," she clarifies.

"I see." He seems satisfied with her answer as he places the plate of cookies on the table in front of us. I don't think it wise to eat food offered by a strange man in a dark room, especially if I can't use the NS to analyze it first. However, Ruby immediately goes to town, practically absorbing the cookies.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before… a dusty old crow," the man resumes.

"Oh, that's my uncle," I believe is what Ruby replies with, however, her response is muffled by cookie number seven. "Ahem, sorry, that's my Uncle Qrow, he's a teacher at signal," she repeats and elaborates after purging her mouth of the cookie massacre. I find this uncle's name to be very coincidental, considering this man's earlier comment. "I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. (a pun, whether intended or not) Now, I'm all like…" Ruby then proceeded to demonstrate karate-esque movements to symbolize her amazing battle prowess.

"So, I've noticed… and what is an adorable girl, such as yourself, doing at a school designed to train warriors?" The man inquires. Through observation, this man continues to tread the line between concerned father and pedophile.

"Well… I want to be a huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah, I only have two more years of training left at Signal, then I'm going to apply to Beacon. See, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a huntress, and I'm trying to become a huntress because I want to help people, and my parents always taught us to help others, so, I thought, 'well, y'know, might as well make a career out of it.' Hehe. I mean the police are all right, but huntsmen and huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and just jyaaaah! Y'know?"

We sit in silence after that incredibly fast tangent before the man asks, "do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ozpin; you're the headmaster at Beacon," Ruby replies, much more calm now. Well, at least one of us knows who this man is.

"Hmph. Hello!" Ozpin reintroduces.

"Nice to meet you!" Ruby responds.

"You want to come to my school?"

"More than anything," Ruby replies, sounding along the lines of being between desperation and wistfulness. Ozpin looks up at the still unnamed colleague and she just "hmph's" and looks away.

"Well, okay." I don't understand why he would allow someone to jump ahead two years just because he thinks they should. "Now, onto our silent guest," he comments and turns to face me, as do the other occupants of the room. "For whatever reason, you have no records whatsoever in any database across the entire Cross Continental Transmit System. No police records, no birth records, no pictures, no accounts on social media, absolutely nothing. So, I'd like to know… what's your name?"

"Nin Eon," I answer.

"Hmm. And why exactly is there no information about your existence? It's almost as if you're… from another world entirely."

"World: incorrect. Reality: correct." With this answer, everyone seems to be taken aback slightly.

"So, what you're telling me is… you're from another reality entirely?"

"Yes."

"Then, why exactly are you here… in our reality, I mean?"

"Objective."

"And that would be?"

"Confidential," I reply, after all, I do not wish to cause panic.

"And why is that? Who, or what, sent you?"

"The Rift. Explanation: If realities are bricks, Rift is the mortar."

"I see, so then you think we'll be afraid if you tell us why you're here, correct?" Ozpin asks, now legitimately curious.

"Yes."

"Well then, you have nothing to worry about, you are in the presence of two of the most elite – albeit, retired – huntsmen and huntresses in all of Remnant. So, please, it is best if you inform us."

"Understood. Problem unsolvable by the Rift itself. Creature capable of rendering entities non-existent." If they weren't already worried, then they were now. "Creature 'non-existent' itself. Only seen by me. Effects only seen by me and the Rift. Affected entities appear as silhouettes as 'essence' is drained," I explain in very stilted speech. I have never spoken for such a sustained amount of time.

"I see. Are any of the three of us…?" Ruby asks.

"No. Reason: unknown. Only idea: you must be stronger than others in some way."

"Well, that's a relief. Have you encountered this… 'creature'?" Ozpin asks.

"Yes. Appearance: shadowy Grimm wolf."

"You mean it looks like a Beowolf. Well, not much we can do, except… assist you. You may need to learn more about why this creature is in this reality before you can find a way to defeat it. So, I'm also extending my invitation to Beacon to you, as well."

"Sir, this is our chance to learn about this world, in an actual place of learning, no less," I hear NinjOS' voice in my head, not metaphorically, literally.

"Honored. Invitation accepted."

"Well, then I'll see the both of you very soon," Ozpin tells us as he stands and prepares to leave.

* * *

Ruby and I find ourselves outside of the police station, where we were interrogated.

"Sooo, you probably don't have anywhere to sleep do you? How about you spend the night at my house, after all, we're both going to Beacon tomorrow?" Ruby invites.

"If you insist. Thank you," I reply.

"Cool, follow me, we'll catch a bus."

"Buses run late?"

"Well, yeah, they're automated; they don't need to sleep," Ruby explains.

"Convenient."

* * *

We now find ourselves on a bus ride to somewhere "nearby" as Ruby explained.

"So, tell me about where you come from." Ruby tells me.

"Planet: Earth. Located in a solar system with one star and eight planets. Similar to Remnant, except seven continents and only one moon. Close to 300 countries with a total of over seven billion people. Not very united. Most countries have their own language, making communication complicated. Internet is the 'World Wide Web' where endless amounts of information is stored, sent, and received. Currently wars are ongoing, no solution incredibly evident. Previously there were two World Wars, which were self-explanatory," I give a brief explanation of topics that come to mind.

"Wow! Your world seems really cool and horrible at the same time, how are there so many 'countries' with the threat of Grimm attacks?" Ruby seems genuinely curious.

"No Grimm. Largest threat is ourselves."

"Oh, that's probably worse than Grimm, at least the Grimm don't have weapons. Are Faunus discriminated?"

"Faunus?"

"Oh, you probably don't have Faunus. They're just like humans with the addition of one trait from another species, like cat ears or tail, but they get treated badly because of this, at one point they were forced to live on a continent called the Menagerie, but they fought back and earned the right to live like normal humans. However, people still treat them badly, so we're kind of like your planet, fighting amongst ourselves. Oh, we're here!" I'm not sure if she wanted to change the subject or not, but we are indeed at our stop. We exit the bus and begin walking down the sidewalk.

"Don't worry, we're almost there, also, you might want to go invisible again so my dad doesn't know that I brought a boy home. What would he think? What would Yang think!?" Ruby then gets lost in thought as I follow her advice.

"Following," I assure her that I'm still with her.

"Okay, we're here." The house doesn't look like anything special, actually looking similar to homes on Earth. Ruby opens the door and we walk in.

"Ruby, where have you been!? Yang and I were worried and we were about to go looking for you!" Ruby's dad tells her.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I was in Dust till Dawn, when some guys tried to rob it, so I stopped them and fought with this huntress who told me someone wanted to meet me and I talked to Professor Ozpin and he told me that I can come to Beacon!" Ruby explained enthusiastically.

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is coming to Beacon with me," Yang tells her as she picks Ruby up in a bear hug.

"Pleash shtop," Ruby manages to speak, and is subsequently released.

"Well, we saved you some dinner, if you're hungry," their dad informs Ruby.

"Thanks. Is it alright if I eat while I pack?" Ruby asks.

"Of course, but make sure to bring the plate back to the kitchen when you're done."

"Okay, Dad, love you." Ruby grabs the plate of food and goes upstairs with me following behind her.

We enter her room and she closes the door. "You can reappear now," she tells me.

"Understood. _NS, retract_."

"Here, I got this food for you, I'm okay after I ate all those cookies, but I thought that you must be hungry," Ruby hands me the food.

"Thank you. Your presumption is correct," I reply and sit on the hardwood floor and eat. She goes to work taking stuff out of her closet and packing it into a suitcase. She gets another one for personal belongings, even taking her curtains down.

"There we go, that should be everything. By the way, where's your stuff?" She inquires.

"Ninjealeonic Infinite Storage Apparatus," I answer as I remove the metal 'backpack-esque' container from my back. I open and show her its contents. "No clothes. Unexpected visit length," I explain.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that one," Ruby replies. "Anyway, I have a sleeping bag that you can use, I'm sorry I don't have anything more comfortable than the floor to put it on."

"Non-issue."

"If you say so. Here, you can set it out while I take the plate back," she tells me as we trade items. As instructed, I set out the sleeping bag and then just take in the room. It's completely empty now, with the exception of the furniture. The walls are painted a light-ish-red, but not so much that it looks pink. The floor is a dark hardwood. The bed is queen-sized and is covered with a comforter that matches Ruby's aesthetic – the whole "red roses and black background" thing – I feel that it suits her well.

"Wow, my room looks so empty now, doesn't it? It's hard to think that yesterday I was just getting ready to go back to Signal and now… just wow. How did everything change so fast?" Ruby tells me before getting lost in thought.

"Tis life. Changes happen faster than one would like."

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, that's enough of that. We need to get to sleep, we've got a big day ahead of us."

"Understood," I agree and decide to get settled into the supplied sleeping bag.

"Hey, um, could you not look while I change into my pajamas? Please?" Ruby requests.

"Of course," I reply, cinching the sleeping bag closed around my head and turning to face the opposing wall.

"T-thank you," she responds as I begin to hear the rustling of clothes. I decide to occupy my mind with other thoughts.

What did I see today? I mean when I passed out, what was that? It was me doing the talking and… what I did to that man was… cruel. Sometimes, I like to think that I don't have the capacity to experience emotions, especially fear, but that… vision, it scared me. I was so afraid that I was actually the one who did that, I'm afraid that that's who I was before I… became me, and most of all, I fear that… that thing that I was… is not… me. I'm more afraid of myself now than I've ever been of anything else, and I've been held at gunpoint before.

Why? Why can't I remember who I was? Was that who I was before? Is everything that I thought I remember all fake? Is that why it didn't feel like I was myself in my memories? Why am I the one that has deal with this? That's the worst part about all this, it is possible to run from problems, but how can you run from yourself? I… I don't know. I'm just so afraid.

"Hey, Nin, are you okay? I hear you crying in there. What's wrong?" Ruby asks softly from somewhere above me.

"Nothing. Perfect. Hard to breath in here," I'm not the type to share my thoughts.

"No, you're not, I know it. Please, come out and talk to me," Ruby commands calmly. I exit the sleeping bag and look at her, now clad in pajamas matching her comforter. "Nin, please tell me what's wrong. I want to help you. I know we haven't talked a lot and we don't know each other that well, and we've only actually seen each other like three times, but I still think that we're friends. We both know that friends help each other."

"I did not. No friends. No family. Just myself and NinjOS. Being friends would be… an honor. Thank you, again. I am afraid. Afraid of myself."

"Why?"

"Battle earlier, passed out, saw a… 'vision', saw myself doing something that I do not remember and hope that didn't actually happen."

"What? What did you see?" She inquires, curiously but respectful. I then proceed to explain what I saw. "Oh my gosh," is all she can say.

"If you are afraid, as well, I will leave."

"No, I know you're not like that. Like I said, we haven't known each other for very long, but I know that you haven't acted like that the whole time I've known you. That may be who you were, but you aren't that… thing now. You are different," Ruby assures me. Her words comfort my nerves, I know she speaks the truth and I agree, but it is not that simple. You cannot run from yourself. Regardless, for now, I am not my concern.

"Thank you, Ruby. So very helpful. Grateful."

"You know you don't have to keep thanking me, right?" Ruby informs me.

"No, I will. Give thanks where it is due."

"Okay, well, I'm glad I could help you through that. Like I told Professor Ozpin, I want to help others, that's why I want to be a huntress."

"So far, you're doing a great job."

"Now it's my turn to thank you," Ruby replies. "Well, good night, Nin, sweet dreams, see you in the morning."

"Good night, Ruby. Sweet dreams. See you," I mimic, not mockingly, but just repeating what she told me. "Thank you for everything."

* * *

"Nin, wake up," Ruby tells me groggily.

"Good morning," I reply.

"Hm." She only makes the simple noise as she is still too tired to process the situation.

"Sir, the suit's energy levels are nearing critical, we need to find a means of restoring it. However, it doesn't appear that this world uses electricity, only this… Dust. Possible solution: modify the charging apparatus to accept other forms of energy, such as Dust," I hear the voice in my head.

"Solar charging?" I reply with my own thoughts.

"Unfeasible, solar energy doesn't provide enough to efficiently charge the NS. With our current built-in solar energy collection, it would take… approximately 20 hours to refill the 'battery' completely."

"Understood. Continue developing suggestions. I will, as well," I inform NinjOS.

"Understood."

"Hey, Ruby! Get up!" Yang yells into the room.

"I'm up! I'm up," Ruby yells back, now more awake. "I've got to go take a shower, you… can't here, but you should be able to take one once we get to Beacon," Ruby informs me.

"Understood," I reply as she leaves the room, taking her change of clothes with her. I roll up the sleeping bag and place it in the NISA. She returns several minutes later, now adorned with her previous outfit, or a clean version of it. There's always the possibility of her having multiple copies of this outfit. Pending investigation.

"Alright, let's get going," She tells me as she lifts up her suitcases.

" _NS, protract and cloak_." Now hidden inside my metal suit, the visor immediately warns me of the nearing critical capacity of the battery. Also informing me that at this rate, it will be completely drained in an hour, max.

I open the door for Ruby, she steps out and I follow, closing the door behind me. She sets her possessions by the front door and returns to the kitchen where breakfast has been served.

"Good morning, Ruby, I still can't believe you're already going to Beacon," Ruby's dad tells her.

"I know… I can't either… it's so crazy," she replies in between mouthfuls as she once again consumes the food in front of her faster than I thought possible. No one comments on this, so it must be normal. Both Ruby and Yang are finished soon and everyone makes their way to the door. Goodbyes are exchanged, some tears are shed, and all-in-all it was an emotion-filled departure. Then, their dad opens the door for them and the three of us step out with him closing the door afterwards. We retrace our steps from last night, returning to the bus stop and waiting.

"So, this is it, the first step in our journey to Beacon. How does it feel little sis?" Yang breaks the silence that quickly formed.

"Crazy, like, awesome crazy, not weird crazy, well, sort of weird, but mostly just awesome."

"That's what I thought you'd say," Yang comments as the bus arrives. We ride in silence to wherever we're going.

After the ride, we now find ourselves at the entrance for a sort of commercial VTOL that will transport us to Beacon.

" _Energy levels critical_ ," informs NinjOS. Great.

" _NS, retract_ ," I command. The girls turn to find me suddenly there. "Apologies for sudden appearance."

"You! Why are you here!? You creeping on my sister, or something!?" Yang immediately turns hostile.

"Wait, Yang! He's coming to Beacon, too. He was with me yesterday when those guys tried to rob Dust till Dawn. Please don't hurt him!" Ruby stands between us.

"Oh, I'll do more than hurt him if he did anything to you! So, why's he back?" Yang asks, now slightly less hostile.

"Saving Multiverse. Creature absorbing other's existence. Sent by Rift. Rift is mortar if all alternate realities are bricks. Only I can see this enemy. Only the Rift and I can see its effects. You have not been affected. All the information currently known," I explain.

"Woah. That's a lot to take in. So, you're here to save the entire uni-, I mean, Multiverse, sent by the force that holds it together before we're all absorbed. That would explain your whole disappearing act before," Yang accepts my answer.

"Boarding," I remind.

"Oh, right, we've got to get on before it leaves," Ruby realizes. We all rush and board the nearest VTOL. As we board I notice another non-silhouette. A guy wearing simple looking, almost medieval, armor. He doesn't look too thrilled about getting on this airship, most likely caused by airsickness.

"Ruby, Yang, we'll talk later," I tell them as I make my way over.

"Okay, see ya' when we get there," Ruby calls out.

"Hello. Nin Eon," I introduce as stick out my hand.

"Jaune Arc, pleasure to meet you," he introduces himself, shaking my outstretched hand.

"Sir, his name is reminiscent of Joan of Arc, possibly explaining the lack of technological weaponry. However, I would like to point out that she was burned at the stake at the age of nineteen, which this boy doesn't seem far from," NinjOS informs me.

"So, uh, how do you like flying?" Jaune asks, looking visibly sick, and getting worse by the minute.

"Neutral. Airsick?"

"Well, yeah, kind of, I mean, it's not-" He visibly attempts to contain his vomit. "It's not that bad."

"Unsure," I reply before hearing a news broadcast.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal, Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities," informs an unseen newscaster. However, the holographic display shows the mugshot for the man I was calling "White-coat". "If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa." The screen then changes to show an anchorwoman named Lisa Lavender.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protest has turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted-" Informs this news anchor before being cut off by the woman from last night.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world," She explains to all the ship's passengers. I look over at Jaune and notice that he definitely cannot contain himself any longer. I quickly locate a restroom and guide him to it, avoiding any mishaps along the way.

As he goes about emptying the contents of his stomach, I gaze out the viewing windows at the ground below, observing the many buildings below us. I hear everyone else's sounds of astonishment and can even hear Ruby say, "look you can see Signal from up here. I guess home isn't too far after all."

* * *

"Ms. Schnee, it is time to leave for Beacon. Your airship is already prepared to leave once you board," a cliché butler informs Weiss.

"Of course, I will make my way there now. Thank you," Weiss replies.

* * *

"Mr. Schnee, your daughter is leaving for Beacon at this very moment, would you like to see her departure?" Another servant addresses the owner of the Schnee Dust Company.

"No, I'm too wrapped up with this search for information in regards to the appearance of 'The Protector' on that Dust shipment," Mr. Schnee responds.

"Yes, Sir, I'll leave you to it then."

* * *

Blake knows why she's chosen to become a huntress. She wishes to right the wrongs of the White Fang, especially the ones caused by herself. She wants to fight for equality by showing that Faunus are just the same as humans, and just as powerful, she'll fight for the freedom of the Faunus that are constantly put down by humanity. She knows that if she's a well-known huntress, people will finally listen to her. That's why she's decided to attend Beacon. She makes her way to the airships after quickly adjusting her bow, making her ears just a bit more comfortable.

* * *

"Bye, Mom, I'm off. I'll call you when I get to Beacon."

"Bye, Pyrrha, Honey, I'll miss you," Pyrrha's mother calls after her, with tears in her eyes.

"I know, I will, too." Pyrrha knows this is hard for her mother, but Pyrrha feels that it's her destiny that calls her to be a huntress, one who will save the world, whether she likes it or not.

* * *

"C'mon, Ren, it's time to go, the airships are probably already being boarded, we need to hurry up. Ooh, I wonder what kind of people we'll meet at Beacon, maybe some really funny ones like you, or maybe some really serious ones like you, or maybe-"

"Nora, I get it. I can't wait either, but we'll just have to see when we get there," Ren replies calmly, ending her enthusiastic tangent.

"Of course, you're right. Typical Ren," Nora agrees as they make their way to the boarding area.

* * *

"Beacon's our home now," Yang replies. For me, it's a bit different. I'm much farther from home than anyone can possibly be, but for the time being I have to agree with Yang. Beacon is indeed our home now.

* * *

For prior notification of a chapter being posted check my Tumblr: zurprizebirthday


	3. Screams of the Unfamiliar

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 3: Screams of the Unfamiliar**

 **RWBY Chapters 2 & 3: The Shining Beacon**

As we arrive at Beacon, Jaune only looks even more sick. Although the airship we occupy smoothly docks at a platform leading to the academy, the moment the door opens, Jaune rushes out and seeks relief in a nearby trash can. While this happens, the rest of the ship's occupants calmly walk through the doors that will lead them to their new lives. Well, our new lives would probably be more fitting, seeing as I am one of the students as well.

I leave Jaune to his sickness and follow Ruby and Yang amid a large group of silhouettes. I notice other airships passing overhead, one looking different from the others, sporting the emblem that I noticed on the crates during the train "heist" and when I watched Weiss' performance. There is a large possibility that she will be attending this school as well.

The girls are also gazing at the landscape that we will now find ourselves calling "home" for the next four years, although I don't think that I will be here for that long; or, so I hope. We stop to take in the grandness of it all and the girls just let out a "wooow." I feel the same, to a lesser degree.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this," Yang comments as Ruby loses herself at the sight of the weapons carried by passersby.

Among the many gasps of astonishment, Ruby comments, "Sis, that kid's got a collapsible staff, and she's got a fire sword," before having to be physically restrained from following after someone.

"Easy there, little sister, they're just weapons," Yang states.

"Disagree," I reply. At the same time, Ruby comments, "Just weapons?" Visibly taken aback by Yang's comment.

We look at each other and back at Yang, before Ruby explains that, "they're an extension of ourselves, they're a part of us. Oh, they're so cool."

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" Yang inquires.

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people… but better."

"Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own," Yang suggests as she pulls Ruby's hood over her head.

"But why would I need friends when I have you and Nin?" Ruby asks innocently.

"Well, actually my friends are here now. Gotta' go catch up. 'Kay, c'ya, bye," Yang throws out an excuse as she runs off with a group of silhouettes.

"Wait, where are you going!?" Ruby yells after her. After the strange amount of wind generated from the escaping crowd, Ruby now finds herself spinning uncontrollably. I grab her shoulders and steady her as she spouts confused questions, for instance, "are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" Thankfully, I was able to stop her from falling over onto a luggage cart. I notice that ahead of the two, non-silhouette, butlers is the girl I believed would be here, Weiss Schnee.

I let go of Ruby so that I may introduce myself, fortunately, Ruby has regained her balance. "Pleasure to meet you. Nin Eon," I introduce as I stick out my hand.

"Uh, yes, nice to meet you as well. I'm Weiss Schnee, if you didn't know already," Weiss replies in a manner that sounds as if she really didn't think it was nice to meet me as we shake hands.

"Known. Fan of song: Mirror, Mirror. Only one I've heard."

"I see, so you do know me."

"I don't know you," Ruby interjects.

"She's Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world," Blake explains after making a surprise appearance.

"Thank you for the introduction to this girl who must live under a rock," Weiss comments before Blake continues.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners," Blake finishes.

"Wha-… how dare… the nerve of… ugh," Weiss huffs before stomping away with her butlers in tow.

"It was nice to meet you!" Ruby calls after her. "Guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day. So, what's-" Ruby addresses Blake who is already walking away in a different direction. Ruby falls to the ground, having not made as many friends as she would've hoped. "Welcome to Beacon," she mopes. I help her back up and notice Jaune walking over.

"Hey, it's you again. Nin, right?" Jaune asks as he reaches efficient conversation distance.

"Correct. Hello, again," I reply as he turns to Ruby and outstretches his hand.

"I'm Jaune," he introduces himself.

"Ruby," is all she responds with before covering her mouth and giggling. "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

* * *

We find ourselves walking aimlessly about the campus as Jaune explains that, "all I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!"

"True," I throw in my comment.

"Look, I'm sorry. Vomit-boy was the first thing that came to mind," Ruby explains.

"Oh, yeah, what if I called you- uh…" Jaune was at a loss for a comeback.

"Ha, you can't even come up with a name to call me."

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it," Jaune moves off the subject.

"Do they?" Is the response from both me and Ruby.

"They will," Jaune assures us. "Well, I hope they will. I mean, my mom always says, uh… never mind." And with the wave of a hand we're plunged into awkward silence, the most dreaded enemy when first meeting someone.

"So, I've got this thing," Ruby breaks the silence by pulling out "Crescent Rose" as I believe Ruby called it earlier.

"Woah! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asks as he jumps away from it.

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle," Ruby explains.

"A what?" Jaune asks, clearly confused by the terminology.

"It's also a gun," she rephrases.

"Oh. That's cool!"

"So, what do you got?"

"Uh, I've got this sword," Jaune answers as he unsheathes a very primitive-looking weapon which is met with an "ooh" from Ruby. "Yeah, I've got a shield to," he adds as the sheath expands into a shield bearing a symbol on its face.

"So, what do they do?" Ruby asks as she touches the shield causing Jaune to fumble and bounce it around in the air before finally getting a hold on it.

"The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just… put it away," Jaune explains almost embarrassedly. I believe he must've told this to others with very uninteresting reactions.

"But, wouldn't it weigh the same?" Or to people who asked that.

"Yeah it does," Jaune agrees as he lowers his head in shame.

"Benefit: free hand," I encourage.

"Thanks," Jaune replies.

"Well, I guess I'm a dork when it comes to weapons; I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it," Ruby mentions, referring to her weapon. Overboard is an understatement… well, I guess not in this world. I also find it hard to believe that teenagers would be allowed to create their own weapons for multiple reasons.

"Wait, you made that?" Jaune asks, amazed. So, it isn't normal?

"Of course, all students at Signal forge their own weapons." So it is normal… strange. "Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down, my great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war," Jaune clarifies, looking even more ashamed than he did before.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me," Ruby replies awkwardly. That's not the best thing to say at this moment. "Well, I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days." Ruby tries to make up for her previous comment, sounding like someone with very refined tastes.

"Yeah, the classics," Jaune agrees, sounding insulted.

"So, what do you have, Nin? I haven't got the chance to see yours yet," Ruby inquires.

"No weapon," I reply simply.

"What!?" The other two are taken aback.

"Only armor," I clarify.

"I don't see any armor," Jaune states. I would like to demonstrate, but I fear that the NS doesn't have enough power.

"Sir, the discrete solar charging has restored enough that we are hovering just above the critical stage, it should be safe to quickly demonstrate. Also, on another note, I have the schematics for a highly functional weapon, as well as ideas for power production," NinjOS informs me. How very convenient. Thank you, NinjOS.

"Demonstration of Ninjealeonic Suit. _NS, protract_ ," I tell the two before doing just as I said.

"Woah," they voice as they both stare in amazement.

"That's awesome, what's it do?" Ruby asks.

"Invisibility. Enhances regular human abilities. 'Shapeshifting'. Extreme durability. Incredibly fast calculations of all kinds, including trajectory, velocity, and simple equations. Creates a field around it to protect even more. Allows me to fight crime," I run down a list of examples, not giving away everything. Especially not the fact that my shape shifting is only the projection of holograms to make it appear so.

"Wow! That is amazing!" Jaune agrees with Ruby's earlier comment.

"Actual weapon in development. Closest to weapon is the Ninjealeonic Matter Manipulators. Located on wrists. Allow for 'conjuration' of anything with the use of matter around it."

"So, you can basically bend the world around you to fit your needs?" Ruby asks, slightly afraid.

"Negative. Very little manipulation range," I clarify. "For instance, _NMM right, create red rose_." The atoms in the air are then modified to produce what I requested, a simple rose for Ruby.

"Wow, that's just… wow. Thank you. How do you do that with technology and without using your semblance?" Ruby asks.

"No 'semblance' in my reality," I explain.

"Hey, what's a 'semblance' by the way?" Jaune asks.

"What!? You don't even know about semblances? Well-" an announcement cuts Ruby off mid-bewildered-explanation.

"All first-year students: please report to the amphitheater, located in the building at the end of the main avenue, for orientation… immediately," the announcement orders us.

"Best option: run," I comment to the other two, who may have already thought of the same idea.

* * *

As we enter the amphitheater, I notice only a few non-silhouetted figures. Most notably, Yang, who calls out to Ruby upon our arrival. "Ruby, over here, I saved you a spot!"

"Oh, hey, I-I gotta go, see you guys after the ceremony," Ruby tells me and Jaune before running to her sister.

"See you," I reply.

"Hey, wait! Ah, where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to," Jaune mopes. After this statement, I notice another non-silhouette, another girl. Her hair is very reminiscent of red leaves in fall and her attire bears a striking resemblance to the Spartan armor from ancient Greece, although, this world couldn't possibly know anything of that. Somehow, her appearance seems related to Jaune's comment.

"Jaune, talk again soon," I notify him.

"Alright," he responds dejectedly.

"Hello. Nin Eon," I introduce.

"Hello to you, I am Pyrrha Nikos," she introduces in return.

"Sir, her name alludes to the disguise Achilles used when trying to prevent the Trojan War. This may explain her usage of Spartan-like armor," NinjOS pipes in.

"So, why have you come to Beacon?" Pyrrha asks.

"Unsure. Invitation."

"You were invited?"

"By Professor Ozpin," I clarify.

"Oh, I see. Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but I must find a place to… stand," she responds before walking off towards an open space. I, on the other hand return to Jaune after noticing a space next to him.

As I pass, I notice that Weiss is conversing, albeit in aggravation, with Ruby and Yang. I'm not sure the reason for this, but she seems to be angry at Ruby for not recognizing her earlier, even going so far as to hand her a pamphlet – contents unknown.

"Hello, Jaune," I greet as I stand next to him.

"Oh, hey, I thought you were going to sit by **your** friends," Jaune "greets" in reply.

"Suppose I am, then."

"Really, we're friends?"

"See no reason for the opposite."

"Alright, I've already made a friend on the first day. I'm already on the road to success with the ladies," Jaune celebrates. Not sure if I agree.

"Yah, and we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and… scraggly over there," I overhear Weiss telling Ruby, referring to Jaune.

Jaune looks over with a "hmm?" when he notices Weiss' thumb pointing at him. Unfortunately, I don't believe he realizes the sarcasm in Weiss' overly enthusiastic comment. Regardless, I notice that Ozpin and Goodwitch have stepped onto the stage and the feedback of the microphone is heard from the speakers.

Ozpin clears his throat before speaking, "I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge; to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate yourself to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy… in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will only prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." After this, Ozpin leaves the stage and is quickly replaced by Goodwitch.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed," is all she tells us. After this, everyone around the amphitheater erupts into conversation as its occupants review our brief brief. Jaune, however, makes his way over to the girls.

"I'm a natural blond, y'know," he tells Weiss, who only facepalms in response. After this, Weiss turns and leaves the four of us to our own devices.

"Proposition: tour the academy grounds," I inform the others.

"That sounds like a great idea," Yang agrees.

"Directory," I mention as I spot one near the entrance to the amphitheater. We make our way over to it and begin examining the different locales on campus.

"So, it says that the cafeteria's not too far from here, and I'm really hungry, so, how about we go get some food?" Ruby suggests.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry, too," Jaune agrees.

"Agree."

"Well, it's settled then, to the cafeteria!" Yang exclaims.

* * *

We walked the semi-short distance to the cafeteria in relative silence due to the lack of conversational topics. However, as we arrive, our small, assembled group voices their opinions about the grand eatery.

"Holy- This place is huge!" Yang is the first to do so.

"Agree."

"Just think of the food fights we could have in here," Ruby adds.

"I'm not sure if I'm with you on that one," Jaune disagrees. "Hey, let's quit looking and get to eating."

"Agree." We make our way to where a line would be if there were any occupants besides us and… another team, none of them are silhouettes. They seem to know what they're doing as they retrieve their food and take a seat. The team is comprised of two girls and two boys. One of the girls stands out with the large, brown rabbit ears adorning the top of her head.

"Excuse my departure," I notify the others, but they seem caught up in the options on the lunch menu. I make my way over to the other team, they notice my approach as I near. "Apologies for interruption. Hello. Nin Eon."

"Name's Coco," the girl wearing the many accessories answers.

"I'm Velvet," the girl with rabbit ears introduces herself, hesitantly, and with an… Australian accent. I didn't believe this world had different dialects, but I had the feeling.

"Fox," the boy with blood-red hair introduces himself.

"I am Yatsuhashi," the other male group member follows.

"So, you got a reason for interrupting our lunch?" Coco asks.

"Question," I reply.

"I suppose," she agrees defensively.

"Are those ears real? No offense is meant by this comment. Curious," I ask, referring to the aforementioned oddity.

"U-um, yes they're real. Why?" Velvet answers cautiously.

"Which pair functions?" I inquire, genuinely curious.

"I-I'm not sure," she replies timidly.

"That's alright. Thank you, regardless."

"Why'd you want to know?" Coco asks.

"Learned of Faunus existence yesterday. Genuinely curious about anatomical functions," I explain. "Also, if history has any influence, then you are treated differently. Correct?"

Velvet only nods her head.

"I apologize for others' lack of concern for another person. I don't understand. So much pain. So much strife. All because of ears and tails. Although, I've seen people killed for even less. I—"

Screams. So many screams, I hear them as if they were right next to me, but no one else seems to hear them. I see Coco trying to speak to me, but I can only hear the screams. They're getting louder, I can only fall to the ground in pain as my brain is overstimulated by the screams of those unknown.

I can't discern any familiar voices among the screams, even if I were to clearly identify separate voices. Currently, all of the voices meld together as one deafening pattern of screams.

Everyone is around me, some are on the ground next to me; others just stand nearby, it's becoming increasingly difficult to focus on what I'm seeing. I see people and faces, but I can no longer process which face belongs to who. I see mouths moving, but hear only the screams. I close my eyes and hope that it ends soon.

I lose track of time as the screams ring through my brain. I have my ears covered in attempt to dampen their sound, but it doesn't help. I open my eyes and see… someone in front of my face. Their eyes have water flowing from them and their face looks… afraid. This face… whose face is it. I know them, but I can't connect the memories to what I'm seeing. I close my eyes again. I feel something touching me. Touch, a strange sensation, so separate from your other senses, all except taste. I don't know why of all the things I'm perceiving right now this touch stands out.

"NIN!" A voice calls out clearly through the screams. The screams stop as instantly as they began. I may not be able to hear them anymore, but their effects are far from gone.

I slowly open my eyes to see Ruby staring me in the face, tears running down hers. The others are definitely concerned, but not nearly as much as Ruby.

"Ruby. I am okay now," I inform her.

"No, you're not okay. How can you say that after we just watched you collapse to the floor? Do you have any idea what you put us through? And afterwards, you're just gonna' act like nothing happened? Nin, we're your friends, we want to help you, but you have to tell us what happened," Ruby pleads with me.

"Screams. So many screams. It sounds familiar, but I have no memory of anything involving such horrific, nightmare-like events. I am afraid, Ruby. I am afraid that I am not who I believe I am; I am not the hero "Ninjealeon". I'm so afraid that this unknown past will destroy me. I'm so scared," I explain to her. And then, unexpectedly, I begin to cry; my eyes begin pouring as if I had never cried before in my life, which very well may be true. I told her the truth, just as I had last night, but this time… it was different, and not just because there are more people.

I don't know how long I sat there, curled into myself, crying my eyes out, but it felt like forever. The others have gone to get their food like we originally intended, but Ruby stayed by my side. The other team is gone completely, with nothing left to show that they had ever been here. I feel the need to stand, so, I do just that. Ruby also stands.

"Are you feeling better, Nin?" She asks.

"Yes. Thank you for staying by my side."

"Well, l-like I said… we're friends, so it's only natural."

"But I still feel the need to thank you. You have done so much for me, in such a short amount of time. Kindness like that cannot go unpaid."

"W-well, in that case, um, you're welcome," she accepts my thanks humbly. "So, do you want to get food now?"

"No. I need time to think," I reply.

"Oh, okay, well, see you later then," Ruby seems sad at my announcement. I understand that she may want my company for lunch, but I need alone time now. Time to reflect on this new transgression.

I inform the others of my departure and make my way over to the directory nearby. The map shows a weapon maintenance facility.

"Sir, we could use their facilities to craft ourselves a suitable instrument for slaying the monsters of this world," NinjOS suggests.

"Agree," I reply in my mind as I plot our course to this separate building. I walk out the double doors of the cafeteria and begin walking in the direction of this weapon maintenance building.

I soon find myself watching the many events taking place around me, and lack thereof in some cases.

I see teams reuniting after summer break, I see other first-years meandering about, attempting to make heads or tails of what facility is where, and the somewhat sparse amount of nature going about its usual business of swaying in the ever-apparent wind. I can see my destination from where I am now on this path leading to it, it looks… desolate.

In such a large contrast from the pristine condition of the rest of the academy, this one building looks as though it is rarely used. That doesn't make much sense with all the weapons that pass through this school. Regardless, it still appears in operation which is all I need.

I enter the building and take in the smell of burnt metal and… dust-like air quality. The inside appears in much better shape than the outside, thankfully.

There are many stations for many different purposes, each with its own unique job. There are a myriad of signs adorning the walls about basic safety procedures that should be followed while operating the machines. With all the facilities provided, it still leaves much to wonder as for the reason of its desertion.

Regardless, I am not here to socialize, I am here to create a weapon based on the blueprints NinjOS created. I appear to be the only inhabitant of the spacious work area, with the exception of a girl with a very noticeable grayish-brown tail. She knows I'm here, I can tell by the way she's trying to look uninterested in the new arrival by going about whatever she's doing. I decide that she may be able to help me get started with the creation of my weapon. I make my over to her.

"Hello. Nin Eon," I introduce like many times before.

"Ah! Oh, I-I'm sorry. I'm… T-Timberwolf," she introduces. She declines my handshake.

"Apologies. I had no intention of startling you. I would like to ask for your assistance."

"My h-help, why?"

"You seem to know what you're doing," I answer.

"O-oh, I guess I do," she agrees. She appears increasingly nervous. "So, w-what do you need help with?"

"Creating a weapon."

"You don't have one? N-no offense, but how did you get into Beacon without a weapon?" She asks, clearly curious as anyone would be at that confession.

"Complicated."

* * *

It is now complete, the Ninjealeonic Kusarigama. With assistance from my new acquaintance and NinjOS, I have created a weapon with usefulness on and off the battlefield.

After reviewing the data from the train "heist", NinjOS took a bit of inspiration from Blake's weapon. The NK is a combination of a grappling hook gun and a kusarigama. The kusarigama's blade retracts when the lever/trigger for the gun is pulled to replace its position. Once retracted, the weight and chain retract as well, however, at this point I decided to incorporate technology from the NISA, specifically the opening to a small pocket reality for storing the excess chain. Once completely retracted, another pull of the lever towards the retracted blade fires the weight out of the gun. Once the weight reaches a suitable position, another pull stops the chain and protracts the hooks on the weight. A final pull of the lever makes the gun pull the hook back in, but if the hook is caught on something, the gun pulls itself, as well as me, towards the hook. Once the grappling gun is no longer needed, the lever is pulled towards the handle of the sickle which protracts its blade and leaves only the required amount of chain for kusarigama operation.

This was the lengthy explanation I had to make to Timberwolf so that she would understand exactly what I wanted to create.

"W-wow. That's a really good idea," she assured me before we set to work.

Now, my idea is fully realized in the form of the weapon I described. It functions just as I intended. Most of the credit should be given to Timberwolf, who continues to deny that she deserves the praise. I continuously thanked her for the assistance, but she denied it just as quickly. Now that everything is said and done, I feel that I need to move on, but I don't know what else there is to do.

"Will all first-years please report to the locker room," Professor Goodwitch informs us over the intercom. I begin making my way to the directory directly out of the weapon maintenance building and quickly notice that Timberwolf has the same intention. I hold the door for her and follow her to the directory.

We locate the locker room on the map and make our way there together… in absolute silence.

* * *

"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six-digit code," Professor Goodwitch informs us.

I hear a commotion behind me and turn to see a tall, armored teen push Jaune into the nearest locker. I act quickly, entangling the bully with the NK just before he can enter the code.

"Mr. Eon, what is it you think you're doing?" Professor Goodwitch intervenes.

"Bully. Pushed Jaune into locker," I explain the situation. By now, everyone else has turned to see what's going on.

"Is this true, Mr. Winchester?" She asks the bully.

"What? No, me and Jaune are like… best friends," this "Mr. Winchester" lies through his teeth.

"He's lying! I don't even know him! Get me out of here!" Jaune calls from inside the locker.

"Mr. Winchester, I expect to see you after everyone is assigned their locker so that we may… discuss the consequences of your actions," she tells the perpetrator. "Now, Mr. Eon, please release him. Also, Mr. Ark I will have you released in just a moment."

I release the bully and Professor Goodwitch releases Jaune and goes back to handing everyone their locker number and code.

"Hey, thanks. You saved me the walk back from wherever he would've sent me," Jaune expresses his gratitude.

"I know you'd do the same. Silence only aids the enemy. Standing up to bullies is the only solution," I explain to him.

"Well, if you say so," is Jaune's simple reply.

After my "heroics", Ruby, Yang, and even Timberwolf make an appearance to commend my actions.

"Nin, that was so cool! You just lassoed him with your chain and you were all like, 'let him go', but then he was like 'never' and then Professor Goodwitch was all like 'both of you, cut it out' and it was just… awesome," Ruby recaps.

"Over-exaggeration," I tell her.

"I might not have seen what Ruby saw, but that was pretty heroic of you," Yang comments.

"Heroic: incorrect. Human: correct," I inform Yang.

"I-I don't think I could ever do anything like that," Timberwolf adds.

"By the way, since when do you have a weapon, I thought you said you didn't have one?" Jaune inquires.

"Just created. Assisted by Timberwolf," I explain, motioning toward the girl in question.

"Wh-what, no, it was all you," she once again tries to deny credit.

"Negative. Without you, I would not have been able to create such a grand utility." After this comment, she refuses to speak, looking away with a blush on her face.

"Oooh, I didn't even think about your weapon yet. So, what is it? What does it do? How does it work? What did you name it?" Ruby asks so many questions that I'm not sure if I heard all of them correctly.

"My weapon is a kusarigama with the addition of a grapple gun. A kusarigama was a weapon used by ninjas, so it fits," I explain, and then proceed to give the lengthy explanation that was previously given to Timberwolf.

"Wow! You really put a lot of thought into it," Ruby comments. "But you still haven't told me its name."

"Name?" I ask, confusedly.

"Yeah, like my scythe is Crescent Rose."

"My gauntlets are Ember Celica," Yang adds.

"My sword and shield is the Crocea Mors, or so my granddad told me," Jaune also interjects.

"M-mine is Profond Cerise," Timberwolf even adds in.

"Understood. One moment." I know that the name needs to mean something in regards to the weapon itself and its purpose, but, based on the others, it's more like naming a lifelong companion, like a pet. "Trammel and Sunder."

"What?" Ruby asks, confused.

"It will be known as Trammel and Sunder," I repeat.

"That's… an awesome name, it sounds really cool," Ruby encourages.

"I think that'S-UNDER debate at the moment," Yang jokes. I find it humorous, but Ruby seems unamused. "But it really is a pretty cool name."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Jaune agrees.

"Y-yes," is all Timberwolf comments.

"Thank you, all."

"Now that all students have received their lockers, please use them as you wish and proceed to the cafeteria for dinner," Professor Goodwitch's instructions broke us out of our "social circle". Had it really taken that much time to make the NK? It didn't feel like it. Regardless, onward we move.

"Shall we do as instructed?" I suggest.

"Yeah, but I need to put Crescent Rose away, sadly I can't carry her everywhere."

"Same here," Jaune agrees.

"We shall wait," I inform the two. It appears that Yang is comfortable having her weapons on her at all times, and Timberwolf must have already stored hers – or it is easily concealed.

"So, Nin, I've notice you've attracted yet another girl, I guess you have some kind of chick magnet, right?" Yang makes conversation. Timberwolf blushes at this.

"Yes, right next to my unicorn generator," I play along.

"Touché," is Yang's response.

"Alright, let's get going," Ruby calls out as she approaches. " **ONWARDS TO VICTORY!** " She exclaims as she points toward the exit.

"YEAH!" Jaune joins in.

"Agree," I reply less enthusiastically.

* * *

As expected, the cafeteria was packed with every student currently attending Beacon. However, from this sight, I came upon the incredibly depressing realization that only approximately five percent of these students are not silhouettes. I don't know how long that creature has been here on Remnant, but it has been busy its entire stay. It seems that evil truly never takes a vacation.

* * *

As instructed prior, after the dinner service, we first-years now find ourselves in the ballroom, scattered out like a puzzle dumped out of its box. There are many groups of friends occupying every available space in the spacious room. I find myself sleeping on the sleeping bag provided to us next to where Jaune will sleep, right now, he's gone to the restroom.

As expected, the girls and boys were told to sleep on opposite sides of the grand area. I can see Ruby and Yang, I also see Timberwolf, and there's Weiss, and… Blake is currently reading with her back to the wall.

I can see Yang checking out the miscellaneous, shirtless men just as Jaune passes in his footie pajamas and mistakes the looks to be for him.

I watch as everyone goes about their own way of winding down for the night, it's… calming. Jaune returns.

"So, what do you think about this?" He asks me.

"Neutral," I reply, simply.

"What? Not interested in the sexy ladies in their PJ's?"

"Neutral," I repeat.

"So… the dudes?"

"Neutral."

"You're just tired aren't you?" Jaune continues his inquiry.

"Yes."

"Oh, I'll leave you alone then," he finally begins to settle down.

I hear a commotion coming from Blake's area, including a "Cut it out!" from Ruby, the scuffle and punching sounds of a play-fight, and miscellaneous cat noises – the last originating from an unknown source, but coming from their direction.

"What in the world is going on over here!?" Weiss enters the scene. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep!?"

Then an "Oh, not you again!" is heard from both Weiss and Yang before quickly being hushed by Ruby. After this, miscellaneous words are thrown back in forth in an argument between Ruby, Yang, and Weiss before Blake blows out her candelabra, plunging the room into darkness, with the exception of the moonlight from the many windows. The few other voices quiet down as the entire room drifts off to sleep.

* * *

For prior notification of a chapter being posted check my Tumblr: zurprizebirthday


	4. Partners in Crime-Fighting

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it.**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 4: Partners in Crime…Fighting**

 **RWBY Chapters 4 & 5: The First Step**

"Wake up lazy butt! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! Iiiit's morning!" Rambles an extremely chipper voice nearby.

I don't know why anyone would ever want to be _that_ energetic _this_ early in the morning. But, alas, I awake from my uneventful slumber to the sound of this commotion. The source of which is an incredibly hyper orange-haired girl digressing on and on to a boy in clothing similar to tradition Chinese dress.

I wonder where the rest of the first-years have gone. I look over at where Jaune… should be. He's not the only one; Ruby and Yang… gone, Weiss… gone, Timberwolf… gone, and even Blake… never mind, she's still asleep. She most likely stayed awake reading her book, but that's just a guess.

I see a few of the leftover freshmen leaving the room with small bags of supplies. I decide to follow.

We leave the ballroom and walk down a hallway until I spot the signs hanging above our destination. Restrooms, with showers most likely.

We enter and – as I had assumed – there's an array of showers, most in use, but the few that aren't are quickly occupied by the students currently entering.

I see now that the hustle and bustle of the students from yesterday has found a new home here. As I think of this, I realize a small detail I had not prepared for, hygiene. How could such a basic necessity escape my thoughts so easily.

"Sir, there are hygiene supplies in the NISA. However, seeing as the NISA is currently located in your locker, hygiene will have to wait until your next opportunity," NinjOS informs me. Of course, I just had to leave it in my locker. Note to self, carry NISA at all times.

"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full 24 hours; not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything. I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm… well, I'm _me_ , but it's just crazy, y'know," the same girl as before continues to prattle on.

I decide to leave the restroom as it doesn't seem to be very useful to me at the moment.

The hallway is devoid of any decorations with the exception of a single painting with the caption "This Will Be the Day We've Waited For" by Jeff Williams, such an unfitting name for someone here. The painting depicts Beacon Academy early in its construction. I continue walking.

I return to the ballroom to find Blake just waking up and realizing how late it already is. She quickly grabs her shower supplies and rushes off in the direction I just came from.

I see the two from before re-entering the ballroom. They make their way over to the boy's sleeping supplies, which he proceeds to roll, fold, and tie up.

"We've been together for so long, what're the odds we'd still be together – well, not, together _together_ – not that I'm saying you're not handsome – you are handsome – but that'd just be weird, right?" The orange-haired girl continues. I decide to mimic the boy's actions and tidy up my given supplies.

After completing that menial task, I replace the aforementioned supplies into their respective closet and make my way to the cafeteria, where – I believe – breakfast is currently being served.

The walk is mostly uneventful, with the exception of the continuous babble of the girl I seem to be stuck to at the moment, who just so happens to be right in front of me. Regardless, I make my way to the cafeteria, in company I would not describe as "horrible".

We enter the cafeteria and the aromatic sensation that is the breakfast as well as the bombardment of miscellaneous sounds from the many students occupying the large room make themselves known immediately. It is a wonderful concoction of great food and great company; a winning combination.

All the students that just entered, including myself, make their way to wear the food is being served and get our breakfast confections.

I make my way over to Timberwolf who looks quite lonely sitting by herself. And yet, even across the grand space that is this room, I still find my ears invaded by the same voice I've been listening to since waking up. Except this time, she's rambling while eating.

"Right. What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team, together." The mention of teams is new to me, although it was expected. "Ooh, we should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together. What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work, he has the school"

"S-so, why did you d-decide to sit with me?" Timberwolf breaks my concentration.

"Alone," I tell her.

"M-me or you?" She asks.

"You. Loneliness is no stranger to me," I answer.

"O-oh," is all that she comments with. After this brief conversation, we enjoy our breakfast in silent company, except for everyone else.

* * *

We finish our breakfast and make our way to the locker room, and just as before, I find myself following the same two from before. I literally cannot get rid of them.

With the girl being the exception, the walk to the locker room is spent in relative silence.

We reach the locker room with her still chattering about… whatever she's talking about. "I know, we'll have some sort of signal –" or perhaps a Beacon, I'd like to comment – "like a distress signal, a _secret_ signal so we can find each other in the forest –" first time hearing of the forest, as well – "can you imitate a sloth?"

"Nora," the boy finally comments.

"Yes, Ren?" she stops to ask.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise," he informs her as his weapons slide into his sleeves. This revelation seems to throw a wrench in "Nora's" plan.

"That's why it's perfect, no one will suspect we're working together." Never mind, I was clearly mistaken.

"Come on, Nora, let's go," "Ren" tells her as they begin to leave the locker room.

"But not together _together_."

"Wonder what those two are so worked up about," Ruby mentions as Nora and Ren pass.

"Oh, who knows? So! You seem awfully chipper this morning," Yang comments. Honestly, Ruby isn't the only one, if the rest of this morning was any indication.

"Yep, no more awkward small talk or 'getting-to-know-you stuff', today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking," Ruby explains. She then begins to make strange noises as she cuddles her scythe.

"Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you're going to have to meet new people and learn to work together," Yang lectures.

"Uhhh, you sound like dad," Ruby growls. "Okay, first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I. Drink. Milk."

I let out a soft chuckle, which betrays my location (which they failed to notice before). They glance at me before Yang continues.

"But what about when we form teams?"

"Um, I don't know, I… I'll just be on your team, or something," Ruby replies uncertainly.

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team." This was a not-so-subtle way of saying that Ruby needed to meet other people instead of clinging to Yang the whole time.

"My dearest sister, Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" Unfortunately for Yang, Ruby calls her out on this.

"What? No, of course I do. I just thought – I don't know – maybe it would help you… break out of your shell," Yang quickly feigns innocence.

"What! I don't need to break out of my shell that's absolutely –"

"Ridiculous!" Jaune interrupts as he walks between the two. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday, I would have remembered having to count that high."

"Assistance?" I offer.

"No, that's all right, I'll find it myself," he declines as we pass Pyrrha and Weiss. "Ah, why does this have to happen today?"

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to who's team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual, such as yourself," Weiss inquires.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure, I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may," Pyrrha answers.

"Well, I was thinking… maybe we could be on a team together."

"Well, that sounds grand!"

"Great." After this comment, Weiss turns away and appears to be thinking to herself.

"Oh, hello, you mentioned that your name was… Nin, correct?" Pyrrha asks, now addressing me.

"Correct," I answer simply. As I do, Jaune slides between Pyrrha and Weiss.

"You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet ya'." Well, folks, pack it in, Jaune just won this year's competition for "most incredibly vain comment". Tune in next year for another chance to win.

"You again?" Weiss scowls.

"Nice to meet you, Jaune," Pyrrha interjects, only for Jaune to push her aside.

"Yeah, yeah, so, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day." I believe he means, "yesterday".

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Weiss facepalms. I understand her pain completely; some people are just not able to understand sarcasm.

"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed. So, been hearing rumors about teams; I was thinking you and me would make a good one. What do you say?"

"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so –" Pyrrha adds before being interrupted again.

"Ya' don't say? Well, 'Hot Stuff', play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss jumps back into the conversation, referring to Pyrrha.

"Not in the slightest, 'Snow Angel'," Jaune replies.

"This is Pyrrha," Weiss introduces.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha greets, unperturbed by his disrespect earlier.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

"Never heard of it." Jaune seems more clueless about this world than even me.

"Uh! She's won the Mistral regional tournament four years in a row, a new record," Weiss continues bragging for Pyrrha.

"The what?" I may not know the places she's talking about, but at least I understand the achievements.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" Weiss flails her arms in frustration.

*Gasp* "That's you? They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" One of which Pyrrha is, the other is possible; I have yet to see television programs – with the exception of the new – in this reality. It seems to me that if Jaune knew this cereal so well, he should have recognized her immediately.

"Yeah… it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you," Pyrrha tells him ashamedly.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss asks.

"I guess not… sorry," Jaune now looks completely ashamed of himself.

"Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader," Pyrrha comforts.

"D'oh, stop it!" Jaune responds.

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged.

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune, spots are filling up quick. Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but… maybe I could pull some strings; find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune once again shows off his over-confidence in himself.

"Alright, that's a bit too close," Weiss tells Jaune, clearly unamused by his acting. "Pyrrha, a little help, _please_." To this call for help, Pyrrha responds by quickly nailing Jaune to a wall with her javelin.

"Sorry!" She calls to him afterwards.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately," Professor Goodwitch informs us over the intercom.

"It was nice meeting you," Pyrrha tells Jaune as she removes her javelin from the wall… and his hood.

"*Sigh* Likewise," Jaune replies as he falls to the floor.

"Having some trouble there, 'Lady Killer'?" Yang asks as she and Ruby approach him. Ruby outstretches her hand.

"I don't understand, my dad said 'all women look for is confidence'. Where did I go wrong?" Jaune asks to no one in particular as Ruby helps him up.

"'Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start," Yang advises.

"Come on, Jaune, let's go," Ruby tells him as she helps him to the door as if he were injured. Which, technically is true… emotionally.

I simply stand there, watching as they leave. What a strange bunch of characters I have met. To think, I will have to cooperate with these teenagers if I want to successfully defeat this creature. It occurs to me, that the Rift never told me exactly how it intended for me to defeat it. Nevertheless, I retrieve the NISA from my locker and follow them out.

"Sir, if this initiation has anything to do with combat, I'm not sure if the NS will be available. You may need to fight without it," NinjOS informs me.

If that is the case, then what can I do, I don't have the fighting capabilities that these students do, not without the NS.

"I understand that, Sir, but unless we find a way to charge it soon, we won't have enough energy to use it for an extended duration."

Quite the dilemma. Tell me, if we used the NS how large would the solar panel need to be to counteract its power usage.

"Based on how much sunlight is available… 46.5 square meters. That is even with the increased efficiency of our solar panels and the increased amount of sunlight we'll receive on a cliff with no shade. The amount of wattage produced from this should power the NS' energy cell in… 20 hours. This is without it being used to its full capacity. If we didn't need to use the suit, we could make the panel larger, but seeing as we may need the suit, that's not possible."

46.5 square meters? That's ridiculous, but necessary. Alright, let's do it… once I activate the NS.

"Yes, Sir. Also, I believe you may want to stop walking," NinjOS informs me as I nearly walk into a wall.

Thank you. I resume following Ruby, Yang, and Jaune who seem to know where they're going.

"So, what do you think initiation is going to be like?" Yang asks me. I am slightly startled by her sudden appearance beside me.

"Combat," is my reply.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I guess they want to start it off with a… _Yang_ ," she agrees. I chuckle at her pun, it was fitting.

"Really Yang, you've already said that one before," Ruby calls back.

"I know, but Nin hasn't heard it, so I thought I'd make his life a bit more… _pun_." I chuckle at this one as well as both Jaune and Ruby groan.

"Well at least Nin finds them… _punny_." Again, I chuckle as Ruby and Jaune show their distaste for such a great use of the English language.

"Yang, please stop!" Ruby exclaims.

"Arrival," I inform the others.

"Alright, I guess I've got to stop now," Yang concedes.

The cliff is overlooking a large forest far below us. Near the edge of the cliff stands Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch. In front of them, there are the first-years that arrived before us, all standing on pads bearing what I believe is Beacon's insignia. My companions find their places nearest the professors, where I find myself much further down the line on one of the few remaining pads.

"For years you have trained to become warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin informs us. This completely ruins the solar charging idea.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today," Goodwitch continues. This seems like a very important decision being made very rashly.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Within the time given, how are you supposed to know who will work well together? "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." This has got to be the worst way of deciding teammates in history. Not only are we not choosing our partners, neither are the professors. It seems no matter how little you wish to mess with Fate, Fate will find a way to mess with you.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path… or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions? Good, now take your positions," Ozpin finishes explaining.

We all ready ourselves for what is to come, and I do, the pads begin to fling people off the cliff; so, that's how we're getting down there. As I think of this, my pad clicks three times and the pad launches me into the air. What a way to go.

" _NS protract_ ," I command and immediately feel the metal plates shifting into place around me. As I'm falling, I quickly remove the NISA and begin rummaging through it for Trammel and Sunder. I quickly grab the kusarigama, holster on my right leg, and replace the NISA onto my back. " _NISA parachute_."

A parachute opens from the NISA, easily stopping my forward momentum and causes me to slowly drift down to the canopy of trees below. This was, of course, a considerably useful attachment to the NISA that was devised before… _me_.

This one thought single-handedly ruins the mood I was in after being launched. Now, all I can think about is before this whole mess started. When I was thinking about this same topic. I realize it was only a few days ago, relatively speaking of course. _Pooompf_.

"WARNING! PARACHUTE IMPACT! STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: MAXIMUM! WIND RESISTANCE: LESS THAN MINIMUM REQUIRED! RAPID DESCENSION RESUMING!" The NS' internal computer informs. Faster than expected, I crash through the tree canopy, only for the parachute cords to completely tangle me, my passenger, and the tree canopy together.

I examine where the cords are caught and decide that cutting my way out is the only viable option. I look up to see that my newfound partner is none other than…Timberwolf.

I can clearly see and hear her crying, most likely due to the current situation. She looks down at me and we meet eyes, or, we would if I didn't have a helmet on, but we both understood that we were now bound to each other for the rest of our time at Beacon. This didn't help her rapidly declining state of mind.

Unfortunately, it appears that Trammel and Sunder have fallen to the forest floor, which just so happens to be where three bear-like Grimm are attempting to rip us out of the tree. If we're getting out of this alive, we're going to need to cooperate.

"Timberwolf. Cooperation required. Please calm yourself," I call up to her.

"W-what are you –" She looks past me at the creatures below and immediately… changes. She stops crying, her expression hardens, and her eyes tell me that she's thinking.

"Weapon lost to bears. You must cut us free. I have an idea. Cut. You distract bears. I retrieve NK. We cooperate."

"Understood," is all she responds. She's an entirely different person; an exact opposite of the timid, stuttering girl from before.

She, fortunately, has an arm free. She retrieves her weapon from a holster on her right leg. It appears to be a simple pistol, but I know it must be more than that. She jerks it forward and immediately pulls back, causing the pistol to extend into an assault rifle-like weapon with a bayonet. She uses the bayonet to cut her other arm and leg out, leaving only her torso. She does the same motion as before, this time horizontally which causes the bayonet to fly out and land in her other hand. She holsters the gun again, grabs onto a nearby branch with her free hand, and cuts her torso free. She's already made herself out to be a very promising partner.

Using the tree branches and her knife/bayonet she makes her way down to where I am completely entangled, hanging from the canopy of branches above me.

"Get ready, when I cut the cords, we'll fall together and I'll try to keep the Ursa off of you so you can get your weapon. Ready?"

"Yes," I respond as I mentally prepare myself. She cuts the cords and I immediately begin to fall. She quickly grabs hold and falls with me. She pulls out her gun mid-air and begins firing at the nearest "Ursa", which we just so happen to land on. We break off here; we both leap backwards, her drawing the Ursa away and me going for the NK.

I quickly retrieve Trammel and Sunder as one of the Ursa breaks away from the group and charges towards me.

"Sir, bounce the weight off of _that_ branch and it should wrap around the Ursa at the proper angle to immobilize it," NinjOS tells me as the NS' HUD highlights the aforementioned branch.

Here goes. I spin the weight for a moment and then release it. It flies to the designated branch, bounces off, wraps around two of the Ursa's legs, and causes it to trip and slide face-first through the dirt. I sprint towards it, leap up, do a quadruple-side-front flip and slice its head off with the sickle side of Trammel and Sunder.

I may have over-exaggerated the flipping, but there was some involved.

I quickly turn my attention to Timberwolf taking on the other two Ursa. She shoots one in the face and leaps off of it as it falls dead and stabs the Ursa right through its skull. All three of their bodies quickly begin to dissipate. I make my way over to my new partner.

"Thank you," I tell her.

"Huh, o-oh yeah. N-no need to thank me. Really," Is her response.

"Nevertheless, objective."

"Y-yeah, I-I suppose you're right. Let's get m-moving," she agrees.

"NinjOS, north?" I think.

"Turn right until I say stop… almost… stop. That is north. Also, Sir, the NS is still borderline on critical energy capacity, especially if we must continue fighting. I'm afraid that if you take any damage the shield will use the remaining amount of energy," NinjOS informs. Understood.

"This way," I tell Timberwolf.

"Ok."

We walk in relative silence, as per our usual. Do we already have a "usual"? We've only walked together twice, why do I automatically assume this is how it will "usually" be? Regardless, it's not exactly "silent" if you include the sounds of our fellow students fighting for their lives around us. There is the ever-apparent risk of death at any moment and yet, here we are, simply hiking through this forest towards an ancient ruin of some sort.

"Y-you know, if it wasn't for all the…all the fighting, t-this wouldn't be so bad," Timberwolf breaks our little bubble of silence.

"Agree. Realization: two least talkative students paired," I tell her.

"Y-yeah, that is kind of funny," she replies and gives a little giggle.

* * *

For prior notification of a chapter being posted check my Tumblr: zurprizebirthday


	5. Screams Made Familiar

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it.**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 5: Screams Made Familiar**

 **RWBY Chapters 6 & 7: The Emerald Forest**

I quickly find solace in the relative silence we find ourselves in, as is the usual case when only Timberwolf and I are together. The aforementioned newfound partner is definitely not one for conversation (an understatement), but I'm not really in a position to say that's a bad thing, for my own tendencies are just as quiet, if not more so.

The only sounds that grace our ears are those that permeate through the forest and reach our bubble of solitude. The forest's sounds from its constant state of motion, the far-off screams of our comrades mid-battle, gunshots, the clanging of metal against another similarly hard object, and the growls of the Grimm are the many auditory sensations to be heard.

However, all of that stopped a few minutes ago. At first I thought nothing of it, just an "awkward silence" as they are known, but soon I began to realize that it's as if everyone stopped fighting, the Grimm halted their never-ending onslaught, and even the forest itself found peace. The silence before was relaxing, now….

"Silence is unnerving," I comment to Timberwolf.

No response.

"Timberwolf?" I ask as I look over to where she walks beside me.

No response.

I put my hand on her shoulder.

No response.

I stop walking and turn her to face me –

"Why did you do this to us? We thought you were a hero!" Her face twists in horror, and I quickly realize that this is no longer Timberwolf's face. This other girl then burst into flames and quickly dissolved into ash.

"Something's wrong, NinjOS," I comment as I clean my hands of the remains of the unknown female.

No response.

This is becoming increasingly upsetting. I close my eyes to collect myself; to mentally steel myself for any future occurrences, but as I reopen them, I immediately notice the change in setting. I'm no longer in the Emerald Forest, I'm back in Manhattan.

In front of me is a blazing inferno, the building is completely closed up, with the exception of windows busted from the heat. A sign above the front door identifies the building as an orphanage. I try to force myself into the building, but even with the added strength of the NS – which I don't remember protracting – the door won't shift or move in any way.

I run to one of the street-level windows and look through, only to stare directly at the same girl from before.

"Why did you do this to us? We thought you were a hero!" She repeats.

"You've been living with criminals for a long time, I had to be rid of them before they learned of their discovery; this was the only way to insure their disposal. If it is any consolation, I apologize for you being caught in the crossfire, but know this: you are merely a statistic – there are always innocent casualties in war, a war on crime is no exception," I tell her without trying, my mouth moved of its own volition. The girl soon met the same fate as before, and the orphanage quickly followed.

I walk backwards, staring at the horror before me, and now the memories come flooding back. I did this; I'm the monster who did this. I turn and run. I run and run and run, but you can't run from your past. It's like your shadow, you may not see it, but it's always attached to you.

"Sir!" NinjOS calls from… somewhere.

I know whose screams those were before. Those horrifying screams; the screams of the unfamiliar. I know now, and I wish I didn't.

"NIN!" Timberwolf yells from… everywhere.

I stop running, nothing I can do can break me free of these memories. I sit with my back against a wall and cradle my knees, and the tears begin to fall. My past actions have finally caught up with me; I finally looked in a mirror and saw the monster that I am staring back. This entire time I had fooled myself into thinking I was a hero, but the truth is… I'm anything but.

" _Nin, I should have warned you of the consequences_ ," the Rift spoke, although now extremely distressed. " _I knew what inter-Rift travel causes and yet I still made you do it without warning you first. I'm sorry_."

"What do you mean!? What consequences!?" I yell back.

" _I'm not stable. I have to hold all of existence together, so, when you travel through me, that instability affects you. Your other selves crash together; you gain memories from other realities of yourself_."

"I'm the only Nin Eon! You told me!"

" _I know what I told you, but I had no idea… I took these memories from you, I needed your cooperation. The… monster that you_ _ **were**_ _, would have never assisted me. I needed you, but not that…_ _ **thing**_."

"Why my help?"

" _I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! You don't know how much it hurts to watch as that creature devours the multiverse and not be able to do anything to stop it. I can only talk and think and rarely manipulate anything. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE EFFECT THAT HAS! Absolute solitude for eternity is…_ _ **torture**_ _. So, I took your memories, stored them within myself and hoped for the best. Thankfully, you cooperated and went to that reality and immediately began acting like the hero I made you believe you were. Then, when the visions and dreams and hallucinations began, I knew what had happened. Now this has happened, you remember that hideous…_ _ **thing**_ _you were._ "

"Make me forget again!"

" _I can't. I wish it was that easy, but I was barely able to do it the first time without completely erasing_ _ **you**_ _._ "

"Erase me. I accept that fate."

" _I can't. I still need your help_."

"I will rid the multiverse of this creature. Afterwards, you will erase me. Non-negotiable."

" _But_ –"

"NON-NEGOTIABLE."

" _I- okay_."

"SIR!" "NIN!" Both NinjOS and Timberwolf screamed simultaneously.

I open my eyes to find myself on the forest floor, my face is wet with what I presume is a combination of tears and sweat. I retract the NS so that I can… feel the world around me, so I can know that I'm back on Remnant.

"N-Nin, you're okay." Timberwolf whispers in relief as she holds me tight. I can see tears on her face, and even those that still gush from her eyes. I see her and realize that I'm crying as well.

And so that's how we stayed for what felt like eternity, and I wish it could be. Now that we've both finally calmed down, we separate and now we're just looking into each other's eyes. I can feel her pain, and I know she feels mine. We'll now be forever connected by this moment.

I know neither of us wants to move, but we've got an objective to complete. "Understand that you don't wish to move. I don't either. However, must complete objective," I tell her, with much hesitation.

"Y-yeah," is her simple response.

We both stand and brush ourselves off. We look at each other for confirmation and continue on our journey.

"U-um, N-Nin?" She calls for my attention.

"Yes?"

"C-can we h-hold hands?" She asks before blushing profusely. I'm slightly taken aback by the request, but not in a bad way, it was just… unexpected.

"S-sure," I answer, even finding myself stuttering.

We come closer together and lock hands. We look at each other again and now both of us are blushing.

"A-and, u-um, can we, um, c-continue 'that' l-later?" She asks another bold question. I look at her and it's as if I'm looking at a tomato, if not something redder. "I-I mean, just c-cuddling and s-stuff."

"I-I'd like that, a-as well," I continue to answer while stuttering as much as Timberwolf, if not worse.

And so, the silence we found ourselves in before, just became even more silent.

* * *

A large gust blows through the forest around us, piquing my curiosity and causing me to look up for its source. My eyes are met with the underbelly of a giant bird Grimm.

After closer inspection, I can just barely make out a certain hooded, scythe-wielding huntress-in-training. Accompanying her on the ride is a certain idol/ rapier-wielding huntress-in-training who is, presumably, the former's newfound partner.

The bird screeches and afterwards the screams of its passengers also find their way to the ground. I'm not sure how they came to be on that massive, crow-like beast, but they seem to be handling themselves well, so I don't see it as a cause for concern.

"Sh-should we help them?" Timberwolf asks. I presume she's still embarrassed about earlier (and the fact that she hasn't let go of my hand since we began holding them).

"Unnecessary. They're capable," I reply. I will admit (to myself) that I may be just as embarrassed as she is, if not more so.

"If you say so," she releases a held breath, probably hoping that I would answer as I did.

* * *

I see and hear nearby bushes rustle, I immediately look to Timberwolf who knows exactly what I'm thinking. We hesitantly break our link and ready ourselves for a fight.

Timberwolf extends her weapon to its assault rifle form and her face hardens like before. I don't know what past experience she has with fighting Grimm, but something must have happened to cause such a shift in personality.

I follow suit and retrieve the Trammel and Sunder from their holster on my hip and return them to their combat mode. The NS protracts, per my command, and steel myself for the fight.

Five Beowolves burst from the shrubbery and stare us down. They keep their distance for the moment, sizing us up, which gives us time to do the same.

The biggest one, the alpha most likely, steps forward and the others follow. The circle they previously formed around us has now closed up, they know what they're doing; they've blocked us in, preventing any escape.

"Sir, suggest grappling up. They appear ready to pounce, so you must act quickly. Grab a hold of Ms. Timberwolf and grapple up. I've already plotted all the paths of motion, all you must do is insure that the two of you end up facing the backs of the enemy, especially Ms. Timberwolf," NinjOS explains quickly. Sure enough, lines indicating the paths of travel of the NK's hook, the Beowolves, and even me and Timberwolf on out descent appear before me in the NS's augmented reality projection.

I quickly make use of the assistance. I grab Timberwolf around the waist, pull the lever to retract the weight, pull to fire, pull to stop and protract the hooks, and one final pull to yank us into the trees just as the Beowolves pounce after realizing our upward intentions.

Everything follows its pre-calculated path including us on our descent. Mid-fall I realize that one of us will be backwards, so I take NinjOS' advice and twist so that Timberwolf lands facing the backs of the Beowolves.

She immediately begins firing into the back of the nearest of the bunch while I quickly swivel to face them. As I turn, I use my centrifugal force to land a hit with the sickle of the NK. The blade slices deep into another of the Beowolves throats, slicing what would be the jugular if they were normal animals. The creature falls dead as if its lack of anatomy still functions as if it were there.

They reacted quickly to our sleight of hand, pulling the food right out from in front of them, as evidenced by their immediate adjustment to face their ex-prey. I expected them to be at least somewhat confused, but they seem to have never lost track of us at all.

Timberwolf downs one of them, but the remaining three are completely unaffected by the loss of their pack-member. I assume they have packs, like traditional wolves, but I have yet to prove as much with concrete evidence.

"Sir, fire at that branch," NinjOS informs as the NIH displays the path of travel of the weight if I do as suggested.

I pull the lever as the particular Beowolf nears. I fire the weight, it ricochets and wraps around the neck of the creature, I pull again to hook it into the beast, and I pull the lever one final time to pull myself towards it. As I reach the hostile, I flip the lever, protracting the blade, and slice alongside the chain, cleanly removing the Beowolf's head. I return the NK back to its proper kusarigama form and turn to evaluate the remaining threat.

Timberwolf has already ended the "life" of another, but the other seems to be closing in. I swing Sunder to build up kinetic energy and then swing it farther out so that the sickle slams into the back of the remaining Beowolf and stops it in its tracks. This gives Timberwolf enough time to eject her bayonet and slice the creature's head off. Thankfully, their "blood" dissolves along with the rest of their bodies.

We return our weapons to our holsters where we can rest assured that we won't accidentally cut ourselves. We look at the path ahead and link hands, ready to face the dangers ahead.

"The Grimm are such a menace," Timberwolf tells me, but it doesn't sound like her. Yes, it's her voice and her body, but it's not _her_ saying it.

"Timberwolf?" I ask.

"Y-yeah?"

"That?"

"I-I'm sorry, the Grimm do… th _-that_ to me," she explains ashamedly.

"Grimm change everyone," I assure her.

"Y-yeah, they do," she replies.

We look at each other one last time for confirmation, then continue walking.

* * *

"Sir, you must conserve power. Retract the NS. We may need every little bit of power when the time comes," NinjOS informs me suddenly.

"Protection?" I ask.

"You'll just have to be careful," NinjOS answers, regrettably.

" _NS retract_ ," I command, and, of course, it obeys.

"S-so that's what you look like, I-I haven't really seen you without the suit," Timberwolf comments, jokingly.

"I know. Apologies."

"N-no, it's okay," she assures me.

"Oh," I put simply.

"B-but why did you… y'know take it off?" She asks.

"Power conservation."

"Oh, I see," she responds.

"Shall we?" I motion for us to continue on our path.

"Y-yes."

* * *

The screams could be heard throughout the forest. Their source: an unidentifiable Huntsman/Huntress-in-Training. The screams happen to be coming from the direction we are walking in.

"Investigate?" I ask.

"I-I guess…" Timberwolf responds hesitantly, looking at me for confirmation.

"Depart."

We arrive at where NinjOS determined as the source of the screams, a cave. Debris has been scattered around the entrance to a cave. Around the entrance to said cave are carvings depicting a battle with a large scorpion; why someone would enter this cave after seeing the warnings is beyond me.

"Shall we?" I propose

"I-I don't think we should…" Timberwolf replies.

"Creature already gone," I attempt to persuade her.

"I still don't think it's a good idea. What if there's more?" She counters.

"Touché. Disembark towards temple?"

"Y-yeah, let's do that."

* * *

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	6. A Team Well Met

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it.**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 6: A Team Well Met**

 **RWBY Chapter 8: Players and Pieces**

It hadn't occurred to me until now how easily I had forgotten the watch the Rift gave me. The device on my wrist began to vibrate, causing me to look at its relatively small display.

" _Something… wrong… lost… control… creature… damage… apologies._ " Is the message that appears word-by-word on the watch.

"Sir, I'm detecting some kind of… un-synchronization. It's as if we're losing our attachment to the world. I'd say it's a… temporal anomaly – as much as that sounds like a term from science fiction, it applies well to the current situation," NinjOS informs me.

I look around at the windswept trees as they become slower and slower before stopping completely. Fortunately, our connection – I assume – allows Timberwolf to remain synchronized with my time.

"Wh-what's happening?" She asks me, becoming increasingly distressed. So, she noticed it as easily as I did.

"Temporal distortion. Time unsynchronized. My assumption," I answer calmly, hoping to keep her as such.

"But why i-is this happening?" She continues, unaffected by my attitude.

"No answer. Suggestion: continue moving. Time will re-synchronize… hopefully," I attempt to sound confident in my answer, but even I am slightly worried by the situation.

"Y-yeah, ok, let's just keep m-moving," she whispers, most likely trying to convince herself, rather than answer me.

* * *

Unfortunately, we aren't the first to arrive at the temple; we were beaten only by a pair of familiar faces in the form of Blake and Yang. The "artifacts" we've been tasked to retrieve are… chess pieces. The aforementioned pair have chosen the white knight, for unknown reasons.

"Sir, time seems to be resynchronizing. Prepare for any ill effects caused by sudden re-entry," NinjOS updates me on the current situation.

"H-hey, it's going back to normal," Timberwolf tells me, clearly relieved.

"So it appears," I reply.

"Did those two just teleport?" Blake asks… Yang, most likely, who is unable to respond in any meaningful way.

After our sudden, non-introduction, screams can be heard above us and Blake points to their source, which just so happens to be a certain Ruby falling from a certain large bird. I quickly leap into place to catch her, only for her to be intercepted mid-air by… Jaune who causes both of them to land in a nearby tree.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake continues, again asking Yang.

"I…" Yang doesn't know how to answer.

Regardless, we all quickly turn to look towards the rustling and growling coming from the edge of the forest. An Ursa comes into sight before an explosion behind it causes it to fall to the ground followed by a "YEEEEEHAAAAAW!" from a very familiar voice, one I may have been hearing all morning. I can somewhat make-out the figures of the two from this morning… where'd the girl go?

"I'm the queen of the castle, I'm the queen of the castle~" She sings as she dances with a white rook on her head.

"NORA!" Her partner, Ren (if I remember correctly) calls to her. How she managed to get from there to here so fast, I have no idea.

"Coming Ren," she answers (and proves my doubt) before skipping back towards him.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake parallels her previous questions.

"I…" Yang does the same before being interrupted yet again by another sudden event.

Pyrrha, the Spartan armor-clad girl from before, runs out of the forest, followed closely by the large scorpion I assume was depicted by the carvings.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaims after sighting who I assume is her partner.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune calls out. "Ruby."

"Ruby!" Yang adds in surprise.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaims in a similar manner as they reach for a hug.

"Nora!" Nora… "introduces?"

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake once again asks the question no one really cares to ask. I don't think her remarks are helping the rapidly declining sanity of the situation. Yang seems to be the most affected.

"I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again!" She literally explodes.

Ren finally makes it over to the rest of us. Unfortunately for Yang, the situation only gets stranger as Ruby points out another event.

"Um… Yang," Ruby points at the large winged beast, which appears to have a white-clad hitchhiker hanging from its talon. Yang looks defeated at her inability to control the situation.

"Confused," I state.

"Y-yeah," Timberwolf agrees.

"How could you leave me!" Weiss calls down from the talon of the beast.

"I said jump," Ruby answers, but not loud enough for Weiss to hear her.

"She's gonna' fall," Blake states plainly.

"She'll be fine," Ruby dismisses.

"She's falling," Ren interjects.

I see Jaune coming out to the edge of the tree he's stuck in and ready himself to leap out, I assume he plans to catch Weiss. He leaps, and Weiss falls gracefully into his arms… before they realize that now they're both falling. Jaune hits the ground with a *flump* and then an audible *crack* is heard when Weiss lands on him. Fortunately, not impaling him with her rapier.

"My hero," she admires, sarcastically and unenthusiastically.

"My back," Jaune whines in pain.

In the distance, Pyrrha can still be seen running from the "Deathstalker" … until being launched onto the ground in front of our unusual band of heroes.

"Great, the gang's all here, now we can die together," Yang announces in mock excitement.

"Not if I can help it," Ruby claims before charging at the Deathstalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang calls after her sister, but, alas, it was too late.

The Deathstalker easily deflects Ruby with a wave of its claw. After being completely denied, Ruby turns her back to the creature and calls to us, "don't worry, totally fine." Luckily, the scorpion doesn't capitalize on her unawareness; instead Ruby turns and fires a shot – easily deflected by the beast's exoskeleton – and begins to retreat.

"Ruby!" Yang calls out as she rushes to meet her sister as we see the large winged creature from before make a surprise appearance.

It flies to a position above Ruby, slows itself, and then launches large feathers into the ground around Ruby. Thankfully, only her cloak is speared by one of the feathers and Ruby is not made into a kabob. Yang is also caught in between some of the feathers, fortunately, with no cloak to hold her down. We all watch in shock as the scene plays out quite a bit away from us.

The Deathstalker returns and begins to strike its stinger into Ruby, only to be completely frozen by a last-second ice Weiss. The two work out their issues before Weiss begins walking back; afterwards, Yang runs over and grapples Ruby into a hug as the airborne beast circles overhead and the Deathstalker glares menacingly (as he is incapable of doing much else). We all let out a collectively held breath in relief at the situation's resolution.

Now reunited at the temple, we begin to discuss our next course of action.

"Guys, that thing is circling back," Jaune points out for us. "What're we gonna' do?"

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying, our objective is right in front of us," Weiss informs us.

"She's right, our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things," Ruby agrees, sounding uncharacteristically mature.

"Agree," I state simply.

"Run and live, that is an idea I can get behind," Jaune does as well.

Those of us that haven't, then go about choosing our artifacts. Ruby grabs the other white knight for her and Weiss and Jaune grabs the other white rook for him and Pyrrha. I decide that the lone, black knight suits me and Timberwolf quite well, and she doesn't disagree.

"Time we left!" Ren informs us as the Deathstalker begins to break free.

"Right. Let's go," Ruby leads us onward before being seconded by Jaune.

Our makeshift team runs ahead, but Yang just stands and stares at her sister.

"What is it?" Blake asks her.

"Nothing," Yang replies with a smirk. However, it's pretty obvious that it has something to do with Ruby taking charge.

"Us too," I tell Timberwolf.

"A-alright," she agrees as we run to catch up.

* * *

As we all make our mad dash to the cliffs, I can hear the beasts following us, by land and air. The "bird" takes the lead, flying ahead of us and circling in front of the cliff, effectively barricading our escape route.

We take cover behind some other ruins to minimize exposure in the central avenue leading to the cliff. The winged beast perches on some ruins of its own, carefully monitoring our approach.

"Well that's great," Yang comments as the winged creature "caws" and the Deathstalker crashes through the trees behind us, removing any chance of us backpedaling. Now _this_ is a war on two fronts.

"Aw, man, run!" Jaune orders as the Deathstalker charges full-steam ahead. We quickly follow through, running down the main avenue under the watchful eye of the oversized "crow". The beast notices our approach immediately and takes to the sky. It quickly begins launching its feathers at us.

"Nora, distract it!" Ren commands, apparently knowing that she's good at such a task. This proves to be true as she dodges around the feathers and whips out a grenade launcher which she uses to return fire to cover our approach.

A grenade makes contact and the bird loses its hold on our objective, and decides to make a tactical retreat. However, the Deathstalker catches up to us, unperturbed by the far-off explosions. Ren and Blake block an attack aimed at Nora and Weiss uses some type of glyph to propel her and Nora away. As the others make their daring escape, Pyrrha, Timberwolf, and I attempt to slow the Deathstalker's advance.

Pyrrha and Timberwolf take a knee and begin unloading into the beast as the others run past them. I quickly unsheathe Trammel and Sunder and wrap the chain around its tail. Unfortunately, without the NS, my strength is nowhere near enough to stop a creature of this size with that much inertia. Instead, I end up being yanked off the ground, and when it decides to stop before the bridge, I am flown forward against my will. As I hurtle past the creature, I notice why it stopped. The bridge is over a very large chasm and is way too small for the Deathstalker. I also happen to notice the other beast making a return in Grimm Wars Episode V: The Bird Strikes Back. Ah, yes, pre-mortem humor, how very uncharacteristic of me.

The beast crashes into the bridge, scattering the team on both sides. I, in return, crash into the bird's back. I quickly regain my bearings and pick a course of action.

" _NS protract_ ," I command as I pull the NK's lever.

Now with the chain retracted, I quickly take aim and fire at a stable-looking piece of the bridge. I pull the lever and the hook grabs hold and the final pull begins to yank me in. However, as I near the bridge, Nora changes her launcher into a large hammer and destroys the section of bridge I was using and launches her and Jaune to the other side. Unfortunately, she knocks Blake off who just so happens to fall right in front of where I'm headed. Trammel fully retracts as we slam into each other and we both get disoriented. I quickly wrap my arm around Blake and try my hand at grappling again. The hook connects and we're quickly on our way to the ruins. We reach the hooked edge and are thrown over the edge, onto semi-solid ground, by inertia.

"Thank you," Blake tells me.

"No, my fault," I don't want to accept her thanks, considering I'm the reason she wasn't able to grapple up herself.

We quickly take our place alongside our comrades, I walk up beside Timberwolf. She looks as I approach and immediately pulls me into her embrace.

"I-I saw you fly into the chasm. I-I… I thought you were dead," She tells me as she cries into my metal-plated shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Didn't try to scare you. It's okay now. We must fight," I reply.

"Yeah, I know," she tells me softly.

"It's coming back around," Blake updates us.

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got," Yang exclaims.

"Sir, we're below critical levels, any hit and the shield will drain the remains of the battery," NinjOS informs me.

"Understood," I respond.

We all ready our weapons for their best ranged attacks and it occurs to me that I'm the only one without a legitimate ranged attack. Instead, I just ready myself for… anything. The beast is flying towards us as fast as it can and shows no signs of slowing. Those that can (everyone except me) open fire, to no avail, unfortunately. The beast is not deterred by their attack and crashes through the ruins we stand on.

The team quickly mobilizes, running up the falling stone and leaping from section to section, making their way up to non-falling ground in their own way. We all manage to find our footing in some way. If the creature's intention was to separate us, it did an excellent job of that. Ruby, Weiss, and I are standing on a narrow, bridge-like structure; Yang and Timberwolf are standing atop remains of pillars, firing everything they can into the bird; and Blake finds herself alone on a separate stretch of bridge.

"None of this is working," Weiss comments, her intended listener, I don't know.

Ruby begins looking at the ragtag team in front of her and seems to be constructing a –

"I have a plan, cover me," she orders Weiss.

As Ruby puts this plan into action, I glance over and notice that the team across the chasm has taken care of the Deathstalker – which happens to be falling into said chasm at the moment. Yang is still blasting away at the winged beast, fortunately, she lands a hit to the face and it turns to counter. As, it reaches her, Yang leaps into its mouth and begins blasting away. Before it flies back over the chasm, she leaps out and back to the ruins. After her departure, the bird crashes into the cliff and falls onto the ruins in the side of said cliff. Weiss takes Yang's place and freezes the creature's tail to the ruins before it can take off again. As Weiss runs back, Blake and Yang set up a makeshift sling shot with Blake's weapon and two pillars. Ruby launches herself into the slingshot, drawing it back. Weiss uses another glyph to hold the slingshot back as she readies the shot.

"Of course you would come up with this idea," she comments to Ruby.

"Think you can make the shot," is Ruby's response.

"Hmmph, can I?" Weiss tells her sarcastically.

"Can you?" Ruby asks.

"Of course I can!" Weiss replies seriously this time.

Ruby readies herself for the shot, places a new bullet into the chamber of her gun, and waits. Weiss does some kind of motion and fires the slingshot. Ruby is launched at the trapped bird and propels herself with her scyther rifle before hooking it under the bird's throat and landing against the cliff. Then, Weiss' glyphs appear leading up the cliff and appear to allow Ruby to stick to the wall. Ruby gives it all her speed and almost literally flies up the wall, firing her weapon the entire time, with the bird being dragged up the side of the cliff. She reaches the top of the cliff and the bird gets caught on the edge, but Ruby just keeps firing until the scythe pulls clean through its neck and slices its head off.

The body quickly resumes obeying gravity and begins to fall into the chasm as we all stare in amazement at the feat this makeshift team has just accomplished. I've never seen anything like the events I've seen today and the memories I've made today aren't going anywhere… no, wait.

I remember what I told the Rift, and I meant it. This amazing moment does not surpass the horror of the constant hallucinations and the pain of the memories of my past life.

"Well, that was a thing," Yang comments, still clearly awestruck.

"Agree. Now, return to Beacon," I remind the others.

"W-we should help the others," Timberwolf adds.

"Nah, they can get over here by themselves, I'm going to go catch up to Ruby," Yang dismisses as she launches herself away with blasts from Ember Celica.

"Uhh, she can't even help for more than two seconds before launching herself away. How selfish," Weiss shows her disapproval.

"It's not that she's selfish, she just knows that they're capable of doing it themselves," Blake argues calmly.

"Well, I know they can too, but that doesn't mean we can't help them," Weiss retorts.

"I wasn't disagreeing with you, yes, she should help us help them, I'm just saying that she has her own way of helping," Blake replies.

"Assistance," I remind them.

And so, with our assistance and their cooperation, the eight of us make it up to where Ruby and Yang were waiting and from there, we all make our way back to Beacon, everyone still high on adrenaline and acting like champions of the world. They all join in the camaraderie as they discuss their roles in the fight, even dragging me in.

"Hey, so, Nin, what happened to you after the Deathstalker launched you into the chasm.

"Well, bird surprise attack. Grimm Wars Episode V: The Bird Strikes Back. Bird breaks bridge. Team is separated. I fly into bird. Protract NS. Attempt to grapple to safety. Nora breaks bridge. Nora knocks Blake off. I fly into Blake. I grapple us both to safety," I regale them with my tale.

"Oops, sorry about all that," Nora "apologizes" through her laughter. She's not the only one though, everyone is laughing and joining in the revelry, including me, Blake, and even Timberwolf.

"*Haha* Wait, what *chuckle* what is Grimm Wars?" Jaune asks through his laughter.

"Play on movie title," I reply through my own chuckling.

"What movie?" He asks, genuinely curious.

"Never mind."

"Alright," Jaune shrugs and everyone goes back to chuckling as we make our way back to Beacon.

* * *

As we arrive at Beacon, we are shepherded in and congratulated by the staff. We are then lead to the locker room where we can store our equipment, shower, and change. Then, we're taken to the cafeteria, where dinner is prepared for us. We're told to relax until everyone else returns.

"So, I think our first outing as a team was a complete success, gang," Ruby announces as we wait.

"Strangely enough, I agree with you," Weiss comments.

"That's so very true, little sis," Yang pipes in.

"Agree. Fun was had," I share my opinion with the others.

"I-I also had a good time," Timberwolf adds in as she takes my hand. We look at each other again and I know that we are perfect teammates. The others notice our looks and immediately know what's up.

"Ooh, I think some of our new friends are more than just new friends," Nora calls out to the rest of our comrades, much to my and Timberwolf's embarrassment. We immediately turned red and a few of the others chuckled at our expense.

"Nora, you shouldn't be mean to your new comrades," Pyrrha scolded disapprovingly.

"What, I was just telling the truth, I wasn't trying to be mean. Like you said, we're friends now, I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little. Isn't that what you do when you have new friends?" Nora replies.

"But Nora, you can't be that friendly with people you just met," Ren added in.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry you two, but next time you two won't be spared so easily, mwahahaha."

"Understood," I reply.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get to discussing team names," Ruby jumps in (and up onto the table) to change the topic.

"Yang and the Yanglings?" Yang jokes.

"I don't think so," Ruby replies.

"How about the Team that Lived?" Blake supposes, whether jokingly or not, I'm unsure. Regardless, the reference is not lost upon my ears and I show my appreciation with a chuckle.

"A good name, but I don't think it fits that well, sorry Blake," Ruby tells her.

"Ooh, ooh, what do you guys think of Nora and her **MINIONS OF PURE DESTRUCTION!** "

"Nora, no." This time it's Ren to disapprove of the proposed title.

"If all male, suggestion: Brothers Grimm; instead: Champions Grimm," I put in my two cents. My previous sentiment is returned by Blake.

"I think that's a fitting name," Pyrrha pipes in. "But, I don't think it fits _enough_ , sorry."

"No need."

"Jaune, do you have anything?" Ruby tries to get his opinion.

"I think we should be called… no, wait, I've got nothing," Jaune responds.

"Well, it's settled: we have no clue," Ruby voices as she finally returns to sitting.

"True," I agree.

"Wh-what if they choose our name f-for us?" Timberwolf asks a good question.

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Ruby tells us.

"Well, I for one already knew that," Weiss finally speaks up.

"And how is that Ice Queen?" Yang asks.

"Don't you have family in a team? Your team's name is determined by the team member's initials," Weiss informs us.

"Aw man, I totally forgot about that," Ruby facepalms.

"Why didn't you say so earlier then?" Blake asks Weiss.

"Well, obviously it's because I, uh, _I forgot as well_ ," She answers, but mumbles the last part.

"What was that?" Yang asks.

"I forgot as well, okay, I'm human too," Weiss blew up and harrumphed. A few of our team members burst into laughter at this.

"NTRWBYJPNR. All of our initials," I inform them.

"Actually, teams normally consist of four members," Pyrrha explains.

"Oh, but 10 of us," I state.

"Yeah, so how's that going to work?" Yang voices her concern.

"I'm not sure, but I do know that they must have some way of determining what four people make up each team," Pyrrha answers.

"Hey, I think we're dwelling on this too much, our food is bound to be cold with all the talking we've been doing, so I suggest that we all dig in," Nora provides the voice of reason – which is a strange phenomenon.

"I couldn't agree more," Ren agrees.

So, we do just that.

* * *

"Ah, that food was so worth it all," Ruby voices what I assume we're all thinking.

"Now that you've all had the chance to rest and refresh yourselves, I'd like all first-year students to report to the amphitheater for teams to be announced," Professor Goodwitch tells us over the intercom.

"Well, I suppose we've got to go," Pyrrha comments.

"Hey, look alive people, we were just fussing over this, it's finally time to get it figured out, so let's get in there," Jaune motivates us.

"YEAH!" Nora agrees, enthusiastically.

We all get up and take our trays of plates and utensils to the proper receptacle before embarking on the short journey to have our futures determined.

"Ooh, I can't wait, this is gonna' be great. What do you think Ren? Never mind, of course you think it's great, why do I even need to ask –" Nora begins.

"Well, we know that partners must be on the same team, so that's at least half of everyone's team determined," Weiss points out as Nora continues to chatter away in the background.

"That makes sense," Blake agrees.

"Arrive," I update.

"It seems we have," Pyrrha comments.

"Here we go," Ruby adds in.

We all walk through the doors and find that our seats are reserved, unfortunately, Timberwolf and I are separated from the rest of our colleagues.

"We'll talk after the ceremony," Ruby tells us.

"O-of course," Timberwolf agrees.

[A/N: I understand that there aren't actually seats in the amphitheater, but I feel that for this scene it makes more sense for them to be there.]

We all take our seats and wait for everyone else to pile in.

"I'm nervous, more so than usual that is," Timberwolf tells me.

"Agree. Guaranteed to be together, at least," I mention.

"Y-yeah, I guess that's true," she comments as her cheeks begin to color themselves to match her rifle.

"Now that everyone's here, let us begin the festivities," Professor Ozpin announces.

Every team up to now has been entirely consistent of silhouettes, until the latest team took the stage.

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces; from this day forward you will work together as team Cardinal (CRDL), led by… Cardin Winchester," Professor Ozpin continues to announce. Of course, the humor of their bird motif is not lost upon my ears.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces; from this day forward you will work together as team Juniper (JNPR), led by… Jaune Arc." Jaune seems to be taken aback by this progression and is completely dazed when Pyrrha gives him a friendly shoulder punch and unintentionally knocks him down, causing uproarious laughter from the audience.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces; from this day forward you will work together as team Ruby (RWBY), led by… Ruby Rose." As if that's not confusing. It's obvious that Timberwolf and I, as well as our new teammates, are the only ones remaining.

"And finally, Nin Eon and Timberwolf Donohoue. The two of you retrieved the black knight piece; from this day forward you will work together as team Night (NT), led by… Nin Eon. Looks like things are shaping up to be an… interesting year," Ozpin concludes before everyone leaves the stage to be replaced by Professor Goodwitch.

"You will all now be shown to your assigned dorms," she informs us.

Our three teams meet up to discuss current events while following Ms. Goodwitch.

"So, you two are on a team together, alone, I'm not going to say I called it, but… I definitely called it," Nora tells me.

"This is so awesome, we're all together, sort of, we're just split into three instead of one large team," Jaune voices.

"That is quite fortunate," Pyrrha agrees.

"I think this is the dawn, or I guess the dusk of a new era. The era of team Night Rubiniper or Night Juniby or even Ruby Nightiper, actually y'know what, let's just stick with the other two," Ruby announces to our motley crew.

"Exciting," I comment.

"This is so amazing, I get to be on a team with my baby sis, ooh, this is the greatest day ever," Yang exclaims as she traps Ruby in a bear hug, lifting her up and still walking.

"Team RWBY, you'll be in this room and JNPR, the room across from it. And next to team RWBY will be NT in the last room on this hall. For tonight, just get comfy and go to sleep and you can properly settle yourselves in tomorrow. If you have any issues with the adjacent teams, please notify me within the next week, good night all of you," Professor Goodwitch assigns us and then turns and walks back down the hallway.

"Well, good night everyone," Ruby says her farewell.

"Yep, see you girls in the morning," Jaune replies.

"Good night," I repeat.

And with that we all pile into our respective rooms. Being a team of two has its cons, but at least our room is the same size as the teams of four, which means we have more space.

"I-I guess we can't, u-um, c-cuddle, tonight," Timberwolf supposes.

"A-apologies," I find myself stuttering again.

We use the connected bathroom to ready ourselves for bed before crawling into our separate twin-sizes and closing our eyes.

* * *

For prior notification of a chapter being posted check my Tumblr: zurprizebirthday


	7. For Them

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it.**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter 7: For Them**

 **RWBY Chapters 9 & 10: The Badge and ****T** **he Burden**

The sunlight floods the room through the unobstructed window, making me consider the consequences of not getting up. I look over and see that Timberwolf is most likely facing the same dilemma.

"Morning," I greet.

"Unfortunately," she replies.

I sit up and look around the room we find ourselves in, thankfully an alarm clock was supplied to us. The clock reads 6:55, a surprisingly normal time for the Sun to rise, all multiversal travel considered.

I get out of bed and saunter over to the supplied dresser and open the top drawer; inside I find uniforms. I retrieve mine and take another glance around the room. There is a closed door leading to the hallway and an open door leading to our adjacent bathroom. I make my way in as Timberwolf climbs out of bed.

"Taking shower," I inform her.

"O-okay, I'll just look around the room," She replies.

I turn the water on to the desired temperature, noting the speed that the water is heating up. I quickly strip and step in. Oh, how I've missed the comfort of a warm shower in my own room. This is well deserved after yesterday's events. I take notice of a scar on my right arm that I don't remember; it's not recent so I must have gotten it… _before_. I immediately attempt to flood my mind with other thoughts.

I quickly bathe with the provided hygiene supplies and exit the shower; drying myself off with a towel also supplied to us. The uniform fits well, as if it was tailored for me – how they acquired the measurements, I'm not sure.

I exit the shower and notice Timberwolf setting the alarm clock.

"Wh-what time do you want me t-to set the alarm?" She asks.

"7:00, for now, subject to change," I answer.

"Alright, good to go. Guess I'll take mine now," she states as she grabs her uniform and enters the bathroom.

I notice a binder on the dresser and after investigation find that it stores valuable information for new students, such as myself. It includes a map, times that facilities are open, and our class schedules. Both of us have all our classes together, which makes sense. Regardless, our first period is at 9 o'clock and the subject is listed as Grimm Studies with Professor Peter Port. I check the time and it's only 7:15, so, saying we have some free time is an understatement.

The cafeteria opens at 8 and I intend to ask Timberwolf if she would accompany me there for some breakfast. While we're at it, we can retrieve our (her) luggage. Seeing as I don't have any, with the exception of what's stored in the NISA.

"H-how did they tailor these so well without getting our measurements?" Timberwolf asks as she exits the bathroom.

"Same question," I tell her. "Nonetheless, retrieve luggage then breakfast?"

"S-sure," she replies.

We exit the room and – per the map's directions – make our way to the storage area where our luggage was placed.

"Yours?" I ask.

"I-it's that one, there," she points it out. We make our way over to it and, sure enough, the luggage tag has her name on it. "W-what about yours?"

I simply point to the NISA on my back.

"O-okay."

"Take luggage to room and then breakfast," I inform her of my plan.

"Alright, let's go," she responds.

* * *

The cafeteria is surprisingly packed for it being so early in the morning, but I assume the large majority are older students. Although, it's hard to identify anyone when all but a few are silhouettes. I am able to make out the team from the other day – the team with Velvet.

"Do you know them?" Timberwolf asks when she sees what I'm looking at.

"Acquainted, but… no, not really," I answer.

"Oh."

"Breakfast," I change the topic as we make our way over to where the food is served.

The breakfast is mostly traditional breakfast foods, like yesterday, which is strange. Why does another reality have similar food to mine? It does beg another question, what exactly is different about this reality compared to mine? I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier.

Nonetheless, we fix our trays and make our way over to open seats near the aforementioned team – only because I know them, to some degree – which provides some amount of familiarity in the unfamiliar setting.

"Hey, it's you again. How'd initiation go?" Coco notices me as we sit.

"Unexpected," I reply.

"Ah, c'mon, you've got to tell me more than that," she insists.

"Ok. Chased to cliff by Deathstalker and giant crow. Made our stand. Team JNPR eliminated Deathstalker. We and Team RWBY – mostly them – eliminated large crow. Complicated maneuver: launched Ruby, she dragged it up cliff and decapitated it. That's it," I explain.

"Wow, n-not many first-years can take on a Deathstalker _and_ a Nevermore," Velvet tells us.

"That is true," Yatsuhashi comments.

"Thank you," I reply.

After this we eat with sparse conversation throughout.

* * *

"Good luck with your classes, you two," Velvet tells us as our teams begin walking in opposite directions.

"Th-thank you," Timberwolf replies.

"Thank you," I do as well.

We return to our room to find that it's a little after 8:30. The sounds of construction can be heard in the adjacent room, meaning team RWBY is already up to something.

"Class," I inform Timberwolf.

"I'm ready, let's go," is her response.

* * *

On our way, I take notice of Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch monitoring the entrance, most likely to make sure every student gets to class. They seem to notice my… "noticing" and return my stare. They begin walking faster to intercept us.

"Good morning, Mr. Eon, Ms. Donohoue, I hope you are well-rested and ready to begin your first day of lessons," Ozpin greets as he reaches the range at which it wouldn't be awkward to talk.

"Correct. Accommodations: high quality. Facilities: well-kept. Environment: friendly," I reply.

"I-I thought the same," Timberwolf adds.

"Well, that's good. I would say it's to be expected, but I don't try to expect anything these days, too much effort," Ozpin comments and takes a sip of his ever-present coffee.

"What he means is, he's been through a lot in his time, many unexpected events that… didn't end well. So, he tends to just roll with the punches. His attitude may portray apathy, but I assure you he cares," Goodwitch explains.

"Understood. Class," I state simply.

"Hope we didn't keep you too long, I wish you a good day," Ozpin ends our conversation with another sip of his (most likely) caffeinated beverage.

* * *

We take our seats with five minutes to spare, choosing to sit next to each other for… familiarity, I suppose. Regardless, Professor Port is a, well, portly man in what I assume his late-40s to mid-50s. He seems to value his accomplishments very significantly as evidenced by the stuffed heads and his weapon of choice, I assume, framed on the walls of the lecture hall. I also take notice of a gold bust of himself by his desk.

"Good morning class, those of you that have showed up early rather than those that merely arrive on-time are the huntsmen/huntresses of the future who value punctuality. After all, in the life of a huntsman/huntress a few seconds could mean all the difference between life and death," he addresses… well, those of us that are already here.

As the synthesized bell rings from the intercoms our friends in team "Rubiniper" flood the room, just barely. However, I take notice that the majority of team JNPR is not here, reducing it to simply team J or, for comedic reasons, team JAUN.

"And to those that just arrived, as I was telling the others, a few seconds could mean all the difference between life and death, so I will politely suggest you attempt to be more punctual from now on. Nevertheless, I shall leave my tirade and begin today's lesson," he now addresses the aforementioned teams.

"Monsters! Deeeemons…. Prowlers of the Night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as **prey**. HUHaahaha." I suppose he wanted us to laugh, but he was only met with silence, he seems rather disappointed but continues on regardless. "And you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now, as I was saying, Vale – as well as the other three kingdoms – are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures who would love nothing more than to _tear you to pieces_ ; and that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses," he informs us, winking at Yang, who is definitely creeped out by the flirtatious advances of an instructor (most likely) in his 50s. He resumes, "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. 'From what?' you ask. Why, the very world."

"Ehyuup!" calls out a non-silhouette in the back.

"That is what you are training to become, but first, a story," Port continues, but what relevance this story has to the lesson has yet to be determined. "A tale of a young, handsome man… me. When I was a boy," he begins.

* * *

The story concludes having only been interrupted once by laughter from RBY. To tell the truth, I found the story a good example of the less urban setting of this world. I do wonder why his grandfather smelled of cabbages though, I suppose the explanation wasn't relevant to the story. I also suppose I may never know the answer.

"Sir, his story seems to very closely resemble a children's story from the USSR in 1936, coincidentally (or not) titled Peter and the Wolf," NinjOS informs.

Strange, it seems this reality shares a large amount of history with our own, but those similarities manifest in different ways. Thank you for the information.

"Unnecessary, Sir, it's _literally_ what I was programmed to do," NinjOS replies.

"The true moral of this story: a true huntsman must be honorable, a true huntsman must be dependable, a true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise. So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Barely after finishing the question does Weiss' hand shoot up.

"I do, sir," she exclaims.

"Well then, let's find out," he continues as the floor next to him opens and a cage raises up. "Step forward and face your opponent," he clarifies as he gestures towards the cage. The eyes from the creature inside shine brightly through the slots, heavily accented by the pure darkness enshrouding the rest of the cage.

Unfortunately, the "bell" rings signifying the beginning of our lunch break.

"It seems we will have to wait for the results of such a prime example of a huntress-in-training. Ms. Schnee, remember to change into your combat gear – if you so choose – before returning. After all, a huntsman/huntress is only as good as they perceive themselves to be. As always, stay vigilant! Class dismissed," Port informs before releasing us. The students begin to trickle out, some with friends, some by themselves, others have to collect their things before leaving. I, on the other hand, make my way up to where Professor Port stands in front of his desk.

"Ask a favor?" I inquire.

"Why, sure, my boy, if it is within my purview. Ask away."

"Copies of your Grimm diagrams?" I request. I wish to further my knowledge of this world's threats, and the Grimm seem to be the largest, even more so than humanity itself – much unlike my reality.

"Of course. As I said, a huntsman must be well-educated and knowing his enemies is one of the highest priorities. See me once you return from lunch and I will have the copies you've requested"

"Thank you."

"There is no need, my boy, if anything, I should be thanking you for actually taking an interest in my lecture. Unfortunately, you are one of the few rather than the many. **But** , I will not dwell on that. Now, run along, you shall return in due time," he looks on in what I suppose is "muted sadness" – or so, I would describe it.

I, already donning my possessions, return to where Timberwolf was, apparently, waiting for me. We exit the room and follow the other students to the cafeteria – although unnecessary considering our previous acquaintance with it.

* * *

The mess hall – I suppose is an apt title for the grand room – is already packed with the hundreds of other students that eat at this time. We take our place at the end of the line behind some silhouettes. I attempt to fill the awkward gap and strike up a conversation.

"Opinion of Port's lecture?" I question.

"I enjoyed it, to some degree. I'm not sure if I enjoyed his tale or not, but I did thoroughly find the remainder – what little there was – of the lecture to be quite interesting," Timberwolf answers. "What about you?"

"I agree. Thoroughly enjoyable. I found humor in his tale. He is a likable teacher, indeed," I reply.

"I-I just couldn't get behind the story to find it incredibly interesting. Although, I did find it funny at times, l-like you said."

"I suppose, to each their own," I respond.

As we were talking the line consistently shuffled forward at a… less than optimal speed. However, we reach the point where we actually get our food in a relatively… average time.

We are given our trays and seek out the nearest familiar face to sit with. I spy team RWBY (+J) towards the other end of the room and we begin making our way over to them.

"Hey, Nin, and Timberwolf, haven't seen you two this morning," Ruby comments.

"Yeah, where were you two?" Yang interrogates.

"We take same class. Behind you entire time. Would've seen if not so late," I explain.

"Oh, yeah, I remember seeing you, now," Yang replies sheepishly returning to eating to turn the attention away from her. A few among us laugh while making room for me and Timberwolf to sit.

"So, what'd you guys think of Port's lecture?" Jaune asks _the_ question.

"Uhhhh, it was sooooooo boring," Ruby comments. "I almost fell asleep during his story."

"I thought it was interesting enough, although, I don't really see the relevance his tale had with the lesson," Blake answers as well, to which I agree.

"I was basically paying attention to Ruby the whole time, so I really don't know," Yang confesses to which she and Ruby laugh.

"I made an attempt to pay attention to his tale, but I found it hard to with Ruby acting like a dunce next to me the entire time. However, what I was able to understand I did find interesting to some degree," Weiss joins in.

"Oh, yeah, you ready for your fight, Ice Queen?" Yang asks.

"I'd prefer if you would all stop referring to me as that, but, nonetheless, I am excited to display my many years of training to a professional of the art of hunting," Weiss replies.

"You will do well," I assure her.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence. Speaking of, I think I'm going to go put on my combat skirt and return to Port's room. See you all soon," Weiss comments as she takes her tray to the disposal area and leaves the cafeteria.

After eating for a several minutes with a few conversations between those of us that remained, I inform the others that I must use the restroom and take my leave. I find the directory from before and make my way to the nearest restroom.

Upon arriving, I notice the inclusion of a unisex restroom, something under much debate on Earth, to my annoyance. I'm glad that this world is much more progressive in such matters. Regardless, I do my business and make my way to the sinks.

Spanning the wall in front of the row of sinks is a large mirror, which I am somewhat surprised to see. To my knowledge, many schools do not have mirrors in their restrooms in an attempt to keep students from loitering around. After washing my hands, I use the high-tech hand dryer, similar to the more advanced ones on Earth.

After insuring my hands are clean and dry, I begin to examine myself in the mirror. I easily take notice of small outbreaks of acne, nothing new. Then, my face warps, the restroom changes before me and I find myself in a hellscape, completely contrary to my previous setting. I fall backwards and look around, I know where I am. This is another memory from my past. I'm terrified by what surrounds me.

Then, in an instant, just as soon as before, I was returned to the pristine restroom. I stood up and looked around the room, making sure I had truly returned. Finally, my eyes return to the mirror and I find myself staring into the eyes of the very beast I had come to hunt.

I step back and it mimics as if it were my reflection. Then, it begins to change. The creature's shadowy figure melts together to form an incoherent blob of shadows. The shadows then begin to take shape and I immediately recognize what I'm looking at… me.

"It seems… you have a new… greatest fear. That is what determines… my image. You used to be… afraid of the… creatures from this world. Now, hahahahahaha… now, you are… your biggest fear. You are more afraid… of yourself than any… of the creatures that… call this world home," the creature speaks in a voice that it seems to barely understand. It's deep, gravelly and it pauses a lot.

I understand what it tells me and I can't argue with what it's saying. I am afraid of myself. I'm terrified.

"I know… why you're here. You're here to… _kill me_. I would wish you… good luck, but… that would be a waste. Hahahahaha," it tells me before my reflection returns to how it should be.

I'm starting to regret ever creating the NRM. I meddled with forces I should never have known, eldritch truths that no living being should know of. This is my punishment, this is what I must be subjected to for what I've done. And yet, even through all the abuse, through all the suffering I've gone through since I got here, it's nothing compared to what I've done to myself. The worst punishment is being trapped in my own head.

But my well-being matters not, especially with all of existence in danger. I am here to do a job, and do it I will. I am here to save the Multiverse and dammit that's what I'm going to do. Not for me… for them. For those that deserve to continue living their lives. For those I may not know and for those I do. I don't dare devote myself to this task for personal gain, I'm doing it because I am literally the only being in existence capable of doing it.

* * *

"Here you go, my boy. I hope you are able to learn something from the knowledge I've accumulated," the professor hands me smaller versions of the diagrams before turning to the rest of the class. "Before I let it escape me, I'm assigning the first five chapters of the 'Understanding the Threat of Grimm' textbooks to be read before next week. This should be adequate time seeing as the first chapters are relatively short. You can get your copy in the library, after class. Moving on, now that everyone has taken their seats and Ms. Schnee has donned her combat gear, we are ready to let this test of skill commence," Port announces after the "bell" rings, reminding us that our lunch break is over.

Weiss takes her place across the room from the cage as her team calls out their support.

"Go Weiss!" Yang exclaims with a raise of her fist.

"Fight well!" Blake calls out the generic sounding support.

"Yeah! Represent teeeeeam RWBY!" cheers their leader.

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus," Weiss voices her disapproval.

Unfortunately, I can't hear Ruby's reply, even from where Timberwolf and I are sitting on the row behind them, albeit a little ways away, next to Jaune.

"Alright, let the match… begin!" Professor commences as he slashes the cage's lock with his "blunderbaxe" that he recently retrieved from its place on the wall.

The creature inside is one I haven't personally seen before, but Port's diagrams tell us that it's a… Boarbatusk… that's an incredibly self-explanatory name; however, I'm not saying I could come up with a better one.

The creature leaves the cage, charging straight for Weiss who sidesteps and slashes as it passes.

"Haha, wasn't expecting _that_ were you," Port calls across the room as the Boarbatusk turns to stare at Weiss.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby joins in.

As the boar charges, Weiss uses her brand of "magic" to glide towards it, rapier ready to land a killing blow. However, the Boarbatusk catches the sword in its tusks and slams into Weiss at the same time.

"Bold new approach, I like it!" The professor calls from his position by the cage.

"C'mon Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby once again interjects as the heiress and the Grimm grapple for control of the rapier. However, as Ruby says this, Weiss looks at her and loses her focus, resulting in the Boarbatusk yanking the sword from the heiress and throwing it across the room where it clatters to the ground. As the sword slides across the ground, the boar lands another hit on Weiss, knocking her to the ground.

"Ho ho, _now_ what will you do without your weapon?" Port's voice rings out amidst the battle.

As the beast readies itself to charge again, Weiss makes her way to her hands and knees. Luckily, she notices the charge just as it nears her and manages to dive out of the way in time. She rolls to her feet while the Boarbatusk finds itself on its back, lending her a prime opportunity to retrieve her weapon. She sprints to the other side of the room and slides to grab the rapier.

"Weiss! Go for its belly, there's no armor underneath!" Ruby informs her teammate.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss yells back, clearly not appreciative of the valuable information her leader has provided.

As this scene plays out, the Grimm begins to spin in a video game character-esque attack. After charging up, it flies forward at high speed towards Weiss, who uses her glyphs to stop it in its tracks. She then leaps up to another such glyph and launches herself and her sword directly into the upturned stomach of the beast. The beast whines as its body goes limp and quickly dissipates. Whether Weiss knew of the weakness before hand, or was just now informed by Ruby, is impossible to tell, unless, of course, I go straight to the source.

"Bravo. **Bravo!** It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today; be sure to cover the assigned readings and _stay vigilant._ Class dismissed," the professor finishes. Immediately, everyone begins putting away whatever materials they happened to have on their desk and began walking out of the class. The few that remain stare in bewilderment at Weiss after her outburst.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" I hear Jaune comment.

"Frustration. Independence. Unwillingness to rely on another. Possible annoyance towards Ruby in particular. Multiple factors," I explain to Jaune.

"I… I didn't really mean it as a question," Jaune replies awkwardly.

"Oh," I reply with even more awkwardness.

As Jaune begins packing away his things, Timberwolf and I leave the room and begin making our way to the library to pick up our copies of the textbook we've been assigned.

"D-did you notice anything going on be-between Ruby and Weiss?" Timberwolf breaks the silence of the large hallways.

"Yes. Probable cause: Ruby chosen as leader," I respond.

"Yeah, th-that sounds right," she agrees.

"Any issue with my leadership?" I ask. After all, knowing those you represent is necessary for representing them well.

"N-no, not that we've done much to really test, but s-so far you've been great," she assures me. She turns to look me in the eyes and smiles to show me that she's genuine. She slowly takes hold of my hand, to my surprise, and looks away in embarrassment. Needless to say, the rest of the way was filled with awkward silence.

It may be because of this awkwardness, but I felt that I was being watched. However, I was unable to find any culprit in the mostly empty hallways.

* * *

The library is an extremely well-kept, expansive room. I imagine if anyone were to speak louder than a whisper, it would surely echo in such a large space.

The front desk is placed directly in front of the entrance, with a few meters in between. We make our way up to it where the resident librarian is found… reading, big surprise.

"How can I help you two?" The librarian asks as they look up.

"Professor Port's assignment: 'Understanding the Threat of Grimm'," I request.

"And that's for both of you?"

"Y-yes," Timberwolf joins in.

"Alright, give me a moment, I've got them right here," They comment before diving under the desk to fish out our textbooks. After a brief moment, they resurface and slide the two books across the desk. "Now, may I see your scrolls for identification?"

"Scroll?"

"You don't have one?" Timberwolf asks as she pulls our hers.

"Scrolls are multifunctional, digital devices people use for many different everyday tasks. If you don't have one, your name and year will suffice," the librarian explains.

"Nin Eon, first-year," I reply.

"Okay, you're good to go. Remember, the library is open from 9 to 9, there's plenty of reading alcoves with tables and chairs for you to have a quiet place to get your studying in, and you'll also have access to the CCTS through the many terminals here. Hope you can find the library's services useful," the librarian finishes before returning to reading.

"S-so, you really don't have a scroll?" Timberwolf repeats her previous question.

"Yes. Unaware of existence until now," I inform.

"A-and I thought everyone had one," Timberwolf comments.

We take a look around the library, examining the features that we were told of. True enough, there were many outcrops of tables of chairs scattered around, and, in the main aisle through the middle of the room, are the terminals we were told of. These are particularly interesting to me, seeing as they have what sounds like connection to this world's Internet, if its name, Cross Continental Transmit System, is any hint at its function. Unfortunately, we don't have the time to surf the web at the moment.

We leave the library and begin our walk, once again, to the cafeteria, for dinner. And just as before, I feel under the watchful gaze of an unknown presence. I don't want Timberwolf to get involved so I let it go, for now. If and when the time comes, I may require her help, but, for now, I'm allowing her to be blissfully ignorant.

* * *

We sit down where we were during lunch and begin eating. Without much in the way of conversation, the time flies. We finish eating before, or maybe after, team RWBY or JNPR enter the mess hall.

"I-it's kind of strange without them here," Timberwolf comments, knowing I know who she's talking about.

"Agree."

We leave without any major event and make our way to our room.

* * *

We enter the mostly empty room and find a box on the dresser with a note attached; I make my way over to it. "For: Nin Eon" the note reads. I open the box to find a device identical to Timberwolf's.

"Th-they gave you one, that's… not very fair, but I-I'm happy for you," Timberwolf peers over my shoulder.

I set about reading the manual and as recommended, place it on it's charger before using it. I decide to calibrate it in the morning.

"U-um… c-could we y-y'know… um… c-cuddle," Timberwolf barely manages to say, flushing a bright red.

"S-sure," I stutter out, mirroring her embarrassment.

We move our beds together to allow us to have a larger space for… cuddling. We find ourselves next to each other, neither of us willing to make a move before we both give in to the pressure. We move together and just embrace each other.

* * *

For prior notification of a chapter being posted check my Tumblr: zurprizebirthday


	8. The More You Know

**DISCLAIMER: RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth, therefore, I do not own it.**

* * *

 **The Many Adventures of Nin Eon: RWBY**

 **Chapter** **8:** **The More You Know...**

The mirror changes, it warps and shows a horrible scene. It shows me reporting to a crime, the criminal has a woman at gunpoint. I manage to disarm the criminal by pushing him to the ground before anything can happen. The gun clatters along the concrete as it slides away.

I see myself pick up the gun and walk back over to the criminal. A gunshot rings out through the alley, a bullet leaves the gun I'm holding, and a bullet pierces the downed criminal's head. I then turn on the girl who is crying and confused… another bullet leaves the gun. The criminals "associates" jump out from behind cover before all four of them find bullets in their heads. Two more attempt to flee before being chased down, thrown to the ground and executed with the two remaining bullets. I leave the alley without a care.

I see an orphanage in flames. I see a criminal with its head bashed in. I see a criminal… I see a criminal – a monster even – one of the worst examples of creation… I see a criminal who wears a suit of armor. I see this criminal slaughter other criminals and the innocent. I see this criminal eliminate anyone who wants to stop him. I see a criminal… no… I see myself in this mirror, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. You can't stop a reflection, you can only look away. You can't change what already is, you can only stop thinking about it.

* * *

I wake with a jolt. I'm in bed with Timberwolf in my arms. moonlight streams through the windows and the alarm clock reports the time is only two in the morning. I… I need fresh air… I need to leave this room to… to leave my head.

I leave the bed as quietly and gently as possible so as not to wake Timberwolf. I need to be alone right now.

I leave the room and close the door as quietly as possible. I walk the halls to where I remember the courtyard is. This place is… it's hurting me. I'm creating all these good memories with my newfound friends, but I'm also resurfacing memories that I should have never made. I don't blame Remnant, I definitely don't blame the people of Remnant, I don't even really blame the Rift, but I do blame myself.

I'm the cause of so much destruction and needless bloodshed, and even now my greatest fear runs amok and sucks the existence out of this reality. And what am I doing, wandering and moping around a school made to train people to _help_ others.

I hear footsteps and turn to investigate. It's… Professor Ozpin.

"You know, I also come here to ponder my mistakes. Especially on nights when I find it impossible to sleep because the nightmares are too real… and I fear going back to sleep will only make them worse," he spoke. "It seems you do the same."

I don't really have anything to say to that, it's true. It's all true. It's as if he looked into my head.

"I know it may be hard to believe at the moment, but you're not the only one who's done things they regret. Because it's so fresh in your mind, it seems like you're the only one who's ever done anything wrong, but I assure you, that is not the case. I know all to well the feelings of guilt, regret, hopelessness. I know all to well the stress that this world puts on its inhabitants. If anyone knows this… it's me."

He looks at me, seeing if I understand what he's telling me. He's seeing if my body language will betray the information he already knows. He's seeing if I'll give him confirmation that his assumptions are correct.

"So, you do feel this way, just as I do. Well, if you're hoping I have an answer… I'm sorry to disappoint you. I've lived with the pain of regret for so long, always looking for an answer, and I've still yet to find one. Nothing will fix the past, it's a waste of energy to worry about it. And I'm not going to say it's possible to just forget what happened, but it's a whole lot easier to right your wrongs once you get used to them."

He seems to know exactly the issue I'm faced with. The constant persecutory delusions, the knowledge of what you've done, and the guilt that comes with it.

"I know you probably came out here to be alone, and I'm sorry to interrupt your solitude, but I know that being alone isn't going to help. It's only going to make it worse, trust me."

"If so, why do you come here?" I ask.

"I know it doesn't help, but I still like the alone time, for that reason, I guess I'll leave you be. Hope you can resolve your inner conflict, maybe we can both overcome the past some day," Ozpin tells me before turning back the way he came and leaving the courtyard.

I put some thought into what he said. I agree with everything he told me, it's all so relevant. I look at the garden that's apparently cultivated here. I admire the simplicity of the plants' lives. They don't have to worry about anything, they are incapable of anything other than subsisting. And so, I simply watch.

* * *

"Sir, it's been an hour now, I think it's best if you head back and get some rest before another day in the pursuit of knowledge," NinjOS informs me.

I return to the room and notice that nothing has changed, as I expected. I crawl back into bed where I was and go back to holding Timberwolf. Sleep begins to take me in no time.

* * *

The alarm beeps in the standard annoying sound that is such a stark contrast to the silence that preceded it. Unfortunately, due to the placement of the furniture, I'm forced to leave the bed, walk over to the dresser, and then I am able to turn off the alarm.

"Uugggghhh," Timberwolf emits the quiet sound of her desire to go back to sleep.

"Agree," I state simply. I don't feel very refreshed from the sleep, I just feel… restarted. Almost as if I just closed my eyes and reopened them; it doesn't feel like I slept at all.

"I'll take my shower first," Timberwolf informs me as she stumbles into the bathroom.

"Calibrate Scroll," I reply. I unplug the device and use the diamond shaped button to separate the two handles and expand the screen. I also notice that mine is black compared to Timberwolf's white one, I'm not sure of the significance, it there is any. A held press of the gem button turns the device on. The logo for the company that makes them animates on the screen before moving onto the setup screen. I enter the information it asks for, but then it arrives on an option to sync my "aura". I tap the on-screen prompt, but after a moment it reads "NO AURA DETECTED". I decide to wait for Timberwolf to come out so I can ask her. After a moment, she exits the bathroom donning her uniform.

"Question: aura?" I ask.

"You don't know what aura is?" she asks in return, sounding shocked.

"No. Reason for asking," I answer.

"W-well, aura is… aura is a manifestation of your soul it can protect you from harm, i-it can be projected a-as a force, and other stuff. I-I'm not the best person to ask, sorry," Timberwolf tries to explain.

"Gist understood. Use it? How," I inquire further.

"I-I'm not exactly sure, it's kind of j-just instinct, but if you don't h-have yours then I-I'm not sure what to do. M-maybe the library will have something?" She suggests.

"Good idea," I agree. "After class: library. Now: shower."

I enter the shower and repeat the routine per usual. I exit the shower a few minutes later.

"Sh-shall we go to breakfast?" Timberwolf suggests.

"Yes."

* * *

The breakfast selection is slightly different today, with the exception of a few items, but I don't nitpick. We take our seats next to team JNPR + W.

"Rest of RWBY?" I ask Weiss.

"Unfortunately, the rest of my team doesn't understand the benefits of waking up early," she explains.

"Yeah, *yawn* if it wasn't for Pyrrha I'd still be asleep, too," Jaune comments as he sips what I assume to be coffee.

"Coffee?" I ask to make sure. Jaune didn't strike me as a coffee drinker.

"Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan, but when you have to wake up for school *yawn* it's kind of necessary," he explains.

"I agree, Jaune. However, it seems that Nora would argue the opposite. Right, Nora?" Pyrrha joins in.

"Of coooourse, I've never had a sip of coffee in my entire life, you can ask Ren if you don't believe me, and look at me, I'm completely capable of waking up with tons of energy, maybe you guys should take lessons from me – wouldn't that be funny – if you were all to listen to me! That'd be so cool then I could create my very own army of Noras, that would be an unstoppable force, we'd be the greatest force in all of the land, no one would be able to stop us **ever** , hahahahahahaha!" Nora spewed out.

"I-I see your point, Pyrrha," Timberwolf agrees.

"Idea. Question: activating aura?" I ask my compatriots.

"You want to know how to activate someone's aura? Why?" Weiss asks, clearly skeptical.

I show them my new scroll – which they seem shocked about, the color that is, meaning it must be special in some way – and show that it doesn't detect my aura.

"It doesn't show your aura, are you saying you don't know about your aura?" Pyrrha asks, genuinely curious.

"Correct. Timberwolf explained aura, but doesn't know how to activate," I explain.

"Well, Pyrrha couldn't you unlock his like you did mine?" Jaune suggests.

"I suppose I could," she tells us. She hesitates a few moments, seeming to weigh the consequences before placing her hand on my cheek. "Close your eyes and concentrate." She instructs me, to which I obey. After a few seconds, I begin to feel a strange sensation throughout my body. I can feel a force reaching out of me and surrounding me. I can feel my soul breaking free from it's bodily prison. After a moment, Pyrrha lets go and the sensation subsides, but I can still feel the energy flowing around me.

"You are now protected by your own aura, but there's something strange about it. I've felt the energy of a few others' auras, but yours is like nothing else I've felt. It's almost as if… it's only halfway there, as if only half of your aura exists," Pyrrha informs me.

"Phenomenon. Nonetheless, thank you," I respond.

"Sir, I'm now detecting the presence of this energy they speak of, it's strange. It is literally being produced by you. I think this may be an effect of this world," NinjOS informs me.

I am now able to connect the scroll, it shows my name along with a video game-esque HP bar. If this device is able to connect to this energy, would I be able to reverse-engineer that capability and add it to the NS?

"It seems completely within the realm of possibility, Sir. I don't see why not. Although, it may require some work, but I'll get to work analyzing the components of this 'scroll' and determine how exactly it functions. Also, I'm worried by what she said, about half an aura," NinjOS replies.

I am as well, but there's just not enough information to go on for me to worry about it.

"So, your scroll is synced now, that means it worked. Wow, Pyrrha, I didn't know even _you_ were capable of that, it's a draining process," Weiss comments.

"I'm… I'm all too aware," Pyrrha replies, out of breath and fatigued.

"Ok?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'll… I'll be fine. I just need to… rest for a bit."

"Thank you, sincerely," I repeat.

Now the scroll is asking for my team members, I input the information and then I'm able to see Timberwolf's picture and her aura.

"I-I can see your aura now, too. You don't have a picture though," Timberwolf informs me. She shows me her scroll and sure enough, it only shows my name with no picture.

"Add later," I tell her.

"O-okay."

We finish eating and head back to our room for our supplies. I decide that now's a good a time as any to take my picture. I back up to the wall separating our room and the hall; out of all the walls in our room, this is the emptiest. I pull out my scroll and touch the camera icon on the "screen". The application opens and I'm immediately shown the image of myself.

I aim the camera to capture my face as accurately as possible. After positioning the scroll to its optimum angle, I tap the icon to take the picture and I'm immediately shown the image before it relocates itself into what I assume is the gallery. I return to the team page and set the picture for me.

"See the picture?" I ask Timberwolf.

"Y-yeah, it's there. N-now, I c-can see your f-face whenever I want," she answers before blushing and turning away.

I close the scroll and look for something to change the subject. I decide to check the schedule for today and find that we'll be taking "History of Remnant" taught by Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. I inform Timberwolf of this and we leave the room around the same time as yesterday.

On our way there, I once again notice Ozpin and Goodwitch, but they don't approach us this time, they do, however, begin conversing upon sighting us. Unfortunately, I'm too far away to hear, but I doubt it's anything negative.

* * *

We enter Dr. Oobleck's class about 10 minutes early, on account of not being held up by the other professors. Upon crossing the threshold, I examine the room for important features. I can easily spot the similarities in design between the lecture halls, even the professor's desk is in the same place. Although, that's where the similarities end.

Where there were only a few diagrams in Port's room, a map of Remnant with papers pinned all over it covers the wall behind Oobleck's desk in most of it's entirety. Also, Oobleck's desk looks as if the last time it was organized was… never mind, it clearly hasn't been organized in any near amount of time. Altogether, the room just gives off a much more cluttered feel. However, I don't mean that as an insult, as disorganization is in many cases a sign of higher intelligence.

Regardless, Timberwolf and I take our seats next to Velvet who we found alone on the front row. Dr. Oobleck is currently sitting behind his desk, drinking massive amounts of, what I can only assume to be, coffee from a thermos. By tracking his eyes, I find that he's watching the clock like a… an owl.

"Hello, Velvet," I greet after placing the NISA under the desk.

"Oh, hello Nin, hello Timberwolf, how are you both?" Velvet asks politely.

"I'm fine," Timberwolf replies, seeming more confident around Velvet.

"No major events have yet to dictate mood; neutral," I respond, with a bit more informative answer.

"O-oh, I see." She's clearly put-off by the nature of my response.

"Question: you in first-year class?"

"W-well, last year, I had some issues with my, um… accreditation. It's kind of complicated," she answers, clearly distressed by the events causing her issues.

"Never mind. No need to answer. Doesn't benefit anyone."

"Yeah, if it's personal, you don't need to answer," Timberwolf agrees.

"Thank you both," Velvet replies with a smile.

The bell rings and in a blur of motion Oobleck is no longer at his desk, the only indication of his location are the doors shutting. After only what seemed like a single second, the doctor is already back in the front of the class.

"Welcome class, to the History of Remnant taught by me, _Doctor_ Bartholomew Oobleck. Now, I would please like all of you to address me as simply _Doctor_ Oobleck, just for simplicity sake. Nonetheless, I'll move on. This class is provided by Beacon Academy in attempt to prevent past mistakes from being repeated by educating those capable of being educated. Huntsman and huntresses are extremely susceptible to failing in the same manner as their predecessors due simply to the nature of our work. So, it is my great pleasure to provide you with the education you seek to combat this ignorance. Now, any questions before we move along?" Dr. Oobleck spews out in a flurry of words and motion as he zips around the room. I raise my hand to draw his attention.

"Ah, yes, Mr…. Eon, I do presume."

"Question: adamancy towards past mistakes being repeated? Correlation to future lessons?" I inquire.

"Hmm, I suppose that is a fine question and I hate to answer it in such a distressing way, but I don't see the need to sugarcoat the facts. I remain so insistent upon learning from mistakes, whether yours or another's, because I've seen firsthand the effects of ignorance on the battlefield. I've seen fellow huntsmen and huntresses die in the same manner of those before them because they chose to ignore past events, believing that nothing from the past could possibly help them in future encounters, and for that, they payed the ultimate price. And, to answer your other question, I suppose there is no direct lesson in relation to this topic, rather all my lessons are meant to teach it, so, by their knowledge you can learn many examples of why the past must not repeat itself," the doctor explains, slowing down on the more serious part.

"Thank you," I reply.

"You're very welcome. Now moving on; today we'll be discussing the syllabus, of course. Now, I know that is not the most interesting topic to discuss on the first day, but it is necessary part of the class. Simply look at it like this, if we go ahead and go over it now, we can focus on the actual lessons afterwards," Oobleck continues. "Now, for the first week..."

* * *

I can easily agree with the doctor's original statement about the lack of interest the syllabus conveys, but as he said, it is necessary.

"And that's that, now the lunch bell should ring… now," Oobleck predicted its timing exactly and as soon as it rings, the doors fly open and Oobleck is standing by them. "Don't worry, after you return we won't be talking about the syllabus, we'll be moving onto a topic that's sparked much controversy, even more so, as of late. So, look forward to that. Also, Mr. Eon, if you would please stay for a moment, and do not fear, you aren't in any trouble."

"Yes, sir," I reply. "Timberwolf don't wait. I'll catch up," I tell her.

"A-are you sure?" she asks.

"Unfortunately. Possibly join Velvet?"

"That's alright with me," Velvet interjects.

"Ok, I'll be with Velvet and her team in the cafeteria."

After that brief conversation, Velvet, followed by Timberwolf, leaves the room. Soon the remaining students trickle out and I'm left with Dr. Oobleck.

"Reason?" I ask.

"I wanted you to stay behind because of something Ozpin informed me of. He told me in your original interview with him, you explained that you were not of this reality and of your purpose here. Obviously, what is most concerning about that to me, as a history teacher, is your lack of knowledge of this world. Now, before you get upset – not that I believe you will – Ozpin only released that information to his most trusted staff here at Beacon because he thought the information would be relevant for how we should go about teaching you. I hope you understand, and if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask," Oobleck explains his intentions.

"Understood. Thank you. Also, no, you aren't a silhouette," I reply.

"Ah, I was just about to get to that, thank you for putting my already overactive mind at ease. Now, move along, you do want to finish your lunch, correct?"

* * *

The hallways are mostly empty as most of the students enjoy their lunch. This gives me the necessary quiet to reflect on this recent information.

"Sir, I don't believe we should be concerned about the release of the information. Because of it, we are now able to amass more data about this reality without worrying about drawing suspicion," NinjOS tells me.

True. I agree with that philosophy, if it could be called that. Regardless, any progress in regards to your ongoing research?

"Well, I have examined the components of the scroll and most are very reminiscent of Earth's technology, if a little more advanced. However, I was able to locate the part that is responsible for tracking your aura. I'm currently in the process of determining a way of integrating that with the NS, without dismantling the device, of course. Also, in regards to charging the NS, a project I have neglected slightly, what, with the immense influx of knowledge, I may have produced a prototype design. Based on knowledge from this CCTS that we've heard mentioned, which your scroll is able to access – strangely enough, they also use the same Wi-Fi technology as Earth, leading to me easily accessing their 'Internet' after discovering the password: 'b3acon#' – I've found schematics for a 'Dust'-based generator that this world uses for power production. The original is quite large, however, so I modified the design to at least fit into our dorm room. I suggest we set about building it ASAP. I hope you take all this into consideration," NinjOS reports.

Thank you for the update, we should be able to begin the process after class today. Keep up the great work.

After all this thinking, I nearly missed the entrance to the Mess Hall. I enter to find it just as it has been every other time, I spot Velvet's team and Timberwolf enjoying their meals in their usual seats. I quickly retrieve mine and join them.

"Ah, so you finally decide to join us," Coco comments as I sit.

"Apologies. Dr. Oobleck held me," I reply.

"I'm just messing with you, kid."

After this brief "conversation" we eat the food provided to us without much in the way of excitement.

* * *

Timberwolf, Velvet, and I return to Oobleck's classroom, eager to learn about the topic he mentioned earlier. We take our seats and just as before, the moment the bell rings, the doors are closed and Oobleck begins teaching.

"I hope you all had a good lunch, but, let's skip the pleasantries. Let's get to the topic I teased before you left. The moon. As I said, it is a topic with much controversy surrounding it. How did it break? What caused it? Why are we not being showered with moon chunks? All reasonably good questions. To answer all three had once: we don't know. As of right now, we are still unaware of what caused the moon to shatter and why those pieces are not falling to Remnant as they should be. One major issue with discovering the probable cause is our lack of technology, we have yet to find a way to propel ourselves out of Remnant's atmosphere because upon leaving, Dust no longer functions. Unfortunately, the world's governments are not willing to dump the necessary resources to fund a fully fledged space program," Oobleck lectures.

I almost feel that this lesson is mostly geared towards me, but I don't know. It does provide a lot of information to me, such as this world's lack of space-age technology and the nature of Dust.

"Unfortunately, there isn't much to discuss without the proper equipment to examine the moon, so for the moment that's all we know. Moving on..."

* * *

I found most, if not all, of the information that Dr. Oobleck was teaching was very useful to my documentation on this world. This is the class I've been needing to answer some of my questions about this world. Of course, all the lessons have been recorded, transcripted, and archived by NinjOS to allow for review, if needed.

The bell rings and the doors are immediately opened. After we all exit, I feel a substantial breeze from the blur of green that flies past in the hallway. We all know it's Oobleck speeding away to… maybe the teacher's lounge, I'm not sure.

"How does he move so fast?" Timberwolf asks no one in particular.

"Unsure. Lack of data. Results inconclusive," I answer.

"Oh," she replies, simply.

Now returned to our dormitory before dinner, Timberwolf and I go about our own business. She begins reading… something, I didn't catch the title, while I set about following NinjOS's suggestion.

"Fortunately, the technology for these Dust-powered generators is very similar to Earth's gasoline-powered generators, with slight modification. Unfortunately, we don't have the parts on hand. The many maintenance facilities scattered around campus may provide us with the materials to create a rudimentary version. Or, we could simply use the NMMs to produce the Dust-powered generator from the schematic," NinjOS explains.

Understood. However, the NMMs will require substantial amounts of matter to create a generator, and I don't think the sudden transmutation of that amount of air is good for this world's atmosphere. So, we need to find something with more mass.

"I suggest we return to the weapons maintenance facility. There were a lot of high density metal parts there, that should provide us the necessary matter to create a portable generator," NinjOS suggests.

A sound suggestion. I'll start walking that way and on the way, I can read that textbook Port assigned us.

"Excellent, Sir. Two birds with one stone."

* * *

The hallways are a bit more lively at the moment as students wander the school. I see the library a ways down the hall and see Jaune leaving it, carrying several books. Unfortunately, I also see Cardin. He seems to have some kind of issue with Jaune because as he passes, he knocks all of Jaune's books to the floor. I rush to assist Jaune.

"Thanks for the help Nin, I don't know why Cardin did that," Jaune tells me.

"A bully. Pay no heed," I reply.

"No, Cardin's not a bully, he's just roughhousing. No big deal," Jaune responds nonchalantly.

"Never mind," I comment.

"Well, thanks again. I'll be on my way," Jaune states as he returns to walking back to the dorms.

"Sir, I feel like we're going to have more issues with this Winchester fellow," NinjOS comments.

Unfortunately.

* * *

We arrive at the facility as intended, only slightly delayed by the events in the hall. I locate a large abundance of mostly useless-looking scrap.

"This should do," NinjOS advises.

" _NS, protract._ " I order and on cue, the suit slides into place around me. " _NMM,_ _create portable Dust-powered generator_." And, as they should, the NMMs begin the process of transmuting the scrap into what I've requested.

After a few moments the scrap is gone, and in its place is the generator.

"Allow me to analyze it to ensure that the schematic was properly replicated," NinjOS advises. I see the analysis through the NS's HUD. "It is correct. Everything is in place and should function as intended, also, I include charging apparatus with it, so you won't have to be tethered to the generator. Simply plug the device into the generator, allow it to charge, and then connect the device to the NS's backplate," NinjOS explains.

Understood. However, now we need to acquire enough Dust to use the generator for a substantial amount of time. Unfortunately, we don't know the atomic composition of Dust, so we'll have to retrieve some manually. I do remember there being a shop on campus for supplies like that.

"Affirmative, planning accordingly. Based on the source I viewed for the generator, we'll need Fire Dust to generate electricity, much like a combustion engine. There is Lightning Dust, but the energy produced by that is too raw and uncontrollable to be used to power the NS. However, I would like to examine all the types of Dust so, if possible, could you obtain at least a sample of each type?"

If possible, I will. The map states that the store closes soon, so we need to hurry. I'll put the generator and my textbook in the NISA and use the NS's last bit of power to cloak and sprint there.

"I would suggest that you don't expend the remaining energy to reserve for emergencies, but we do need to get there tonight, so we can get the generator functioning as soon as possible," NinjOS tells me.

" _NS, cloak and shift remaining power to legs_ ," I command.

"Shifting power," the NS announces.

Alright, let's go. I leave the weapon maintenance facility and jog over to the main building. I enter and prepare myself for the sprint. And… GO!

I can see other students as colors blurred together as I sprint past. I understand what it's like for Dr. Oobleck now.

"Turn right… NOW!" NinjOS announces. I pull a tight 90-degree turn to avoid slamming into the wall in the intersection. "The campus store is ahead on your right."

The power in the NS is rapidly depleting as I expend it very quickly.

"STOP!" NinjOS exclaims.

And with assistance from the NS, I stop right in front of the store. Inertia, however, is not friendly to anything that stops as suddenly as I did. It's as if all of me slammed into… the rest of me. I fall on the… face of my helmet.

"Sir, I suggest we refrain from doing that in future endeavors."

Agreed.

I pick myself off the ground and retract the NS. I walk inside and find myself immersed in Beacon merchandise. I take a quick look around before finding the tubes that house the powder Dust. I walk up to the counter to inquire on how to purchase it.

"Purchase Dust?" I ask.

"Uh, sorry, man, I'm not allowed to sell Dust an hour before closing," the clerk informs me.

"Understood," I reply, slightly disheartened by the fact that I just wasted the NS's little remaining power. I sigh, turn, and exit the store.

"Do not stress yourself, Sir, I already had a plan B worked out. I suggest we ask Ms. Schnee. As I recall, she is the heiress to one of the most, if not the most, well-known Dust mining companies. I also coupled this information with the fact that her rapier requires Dust to function. So, I made the calculated presumption that she should have a supply of Dust here at the Academy," NinjOS informs me.

Perfect, I hadn't considered that, yet. Do we have any way of knowing where she is?

"Well, based on the time, I suggest searching the cafeteria first, and if not there, then the Library. If we get desperate, our dorm is adjacent to theirs, so, it won't be that hard to find her," NinjOS suggests.

Alright, to the cafeteria then.

* * *

The cafeteria is packed, as it should be at this time. I scan the area where team RWBY and JNPR normally sit, but I don't see Weiss; and if I can't see the bright white of her clothes, then she's not here. I decide that asking her teammates is a novel way of locating her. I make my way over to the two members of RWBY that are here, Ruby and Yang.

"Hello," I greet. "Weiss' location?"

"Oh, hey Nin, uh, I think she's still in the dorm. Why?" Ruby replies.

"Dust-related inquiry," I reply.

"Good luck with that. The Ice Queen isn't one to share," Yang joins the conversation.

"Yang, what've I told you about making fun of our teammate?" Ruby scolds her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Dad," Yang mocks.

"Farewell, both of you," I state before turning to leave.

"Oh, so now you're making fun of me, are you?" I hear Ruby call out her sister as I leave.

"And so what if I am?" I hear Yang joking as I reach the point where I'm no longer within earshot.

I make a mental note to return here before it get's too late, or before the cafeteria closes.

I knock on team RWBY's door and wait for an answer.

"Ruby, did you leave your scroll?" Weiss asks through the door.

"Not Ruby. Nin. Hello."

"Oh, sorry about that, she's prone to forgetting things," Weiss informs me as she opens the door. "So, what did you want?"

"Dust-related inquiry," I answer.

"I see. Ask away then," she comments.

"Request: samples of all Dust types and Fire Dust to power generator," I clarify.

"Why do you need samples of Dust? And what generator are you powering, anyway?" She's obviously cautious about handing away her Dust.

"Dust samples for studying atomic composition. To clarify, this generator," I reply as I remove the Dust-powered generator.

"How did… nevermind. I understand the studying Dust part, but why do you need to power this generator?" She continues to thoroughly interrogate my intentions.

"To power NS. Clarification: _NS protract_." The NS's plates slide into place and lock in as I explain the purpose of this Dust.

"Where did you get that? That's more advanced than Atlas tech! What kind of material is it made of, I've never seen metal like that? And how did you get to fold out like that? This suit is incredible," Weiss obsesses over the NS.

"Created by myself, with assistance from AI. Atlas? Substance: CLASSIFIED. Folding mechanism: CLASSIFIED. Thank you," I reply to all her responses in turn.

"I suppose I should have expected that. *sigh* Alright, I suppose if it's to further one's knowledge and to assist a fellow Hunter. Wait here," she agrees to my request so I obey her instruction. After several moments, she returns to the door with a box. "Okay, I included samples for all the Dust types I have with me and I included the Fire Dust as well. However, I'd like to know more about your technology in return. I know you have more than just the fancy armor. Not right now though, it's too late and I was just about to head to the cafeteria."

"Thank you very much. Agree to terms. Also, allow me and Timberwolf to accompany you," I offer.

"I guess."

I retract the NS, return the DPG to the NISA along with the newly provided Dust. I walk over to my and Timberwolf's dorm and knock.

The aforementioned teammate comes to the door and asks who's there.

"Nin and Weiss," I answer. She opens the door to see the two of us standing there. "Dinner," I explain.

"O-oh, okay," Timberwolf replies before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

* * *

"W-wow, the cafeteria's nowhere n-near as packed this late," Timberwolf comments after we enter.

"That's why I wait so long before coming here," Weiss responds.

"Good idea. Alright if I use?" I ask.

"Why would I care?" Weiss answers.

"Understood."

We get our trays and take our seats where Pyrrha is seated.

"Pyrrha, why are you here?" Weiss asks, confused.

"Oh, hello you three. Well, usually there are less people in here at this time, so I choose to wait before coming. I can imagine you three are doing the same," Pyrrha explains.

"Exactly," I comment.

"Well then, it seems we've got a rather well-rounded cast for our dinner group," Pyrrha mentions before laughing at her own joke.

"Y-yeah, we'll have great, _loud_ conversations," Timberwolf adds before giggling along.

"Now all we're missing is Blake and Ren," Weiss contributes before joining the laughter.

I find the jokes to be funny enough to actually cause me to laugh as well – one of my few displays of emotion. After the laughter dies down, we return to eating in the company of each other's silence.

* * *

We leave the cafeteria after we've all finished. The walk back to our rooms isn't far, but for whatever reason, it feels longer than usual. I look down the hallway where I know our turn is and all I see is more intersections than there should be. The hallway seems to… grow longer, as cliché as that is. I start feeling weak… like I've been walking for hours. I look around and the others are gone, I'm alone in the hallway.

I look back the way we came, only to find that it exactly mirrors the rest of the hall. What's going on?

"Nin… _reality dist… feat the be_ _a_ _… remem… objective_ ," the Rift calls out to me. This must be incredibly serious, I haven't heard from the Rift since the temporal distortion in the Emerald Forest.

The Rift says nothing more, but I still find myself trapped in this spacial disruption. So, I do the only thing I'm capable of at the moment, I walk.

After only a few moments, I feel beyond tired; the hallway is draining my energy at an incredible degree. Through the haze of sweat that I'm covered in, I look to the end of the hall… and there it stands. The creature responsible… me. The creature begins walking to me, but unlike my steps, its actually carry it forward.

I know I can't fight in this condition, so my only option is to run, but I know I won't get far. I turn and run before quickly being incapacitated completely by fatigue. So, here I lie, on the verge of passing out, watching as the creature approaches me.

"You… are hard to find… in this mess. It seems… my actions are… tearing this reality… apart... hahahaha. Perfect. If only… we could have met… on good terms… maybe we wouldn't be… enemies… hahahahaha… as if," it tells me as it reaches my location.

"If only," I spit out.

It crouches down to look me in the eyes. "I'm sorry… it wasn't meant... to be like this. Oh, yes it… _was_. No, you knew… the plan… and yet… you still chose… _this_." The creature stands back up and begins talking to itself. "If it were… up to me… none of this… would've happened. **That's a lie… and we know it.** This was never about… destruction… we were just… **HUNGRY**.I'm sorry… we're just so… **HUNGRY**." After the creature's self-conflict, I can feel it begin to consume the world around us. I feel myself being sucked away, my very thoughts, my mind, my body, all soon to be consumed by this monster.

"As if," I spit out before using what's left of my energy to sweep the creature off of its feet and disrupt its consumption. It falls to its back and I feel the world return slightly. I stand with the rush of adrenaline flooding my veins. I stand over the beast as it lies on the ground, clearly shocked by the sudden interruption. I pull my fist back before quickly using gravity to aid my punch. My fist slams into the beast with my force and gravity's behind it.

The creature is physically wounded by the punch. However, it doesn't take long before the shadows attempt to rebuild its head, before failing. The shadows seem confused as they writhe around randomly before dispersing completely. As the creature disappears, I hear a whisper all around me.

"Still… _ **HUNGRY**_."

* * *

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